Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Keyport, Wash., participated in a fish transfer, coordinated by the Suquamish Tribe March 14-15.

Located on Naval Base Kitsap Keyport, NUWC Keyport’s pier served as the location for the transfer of thousands of young salmon from a nearby hatchery to the ocean.

“We are thrilled to once again partner with the Suquamish Tribe on this important fish transfer that we hope will continue to be an annual event,” said Capt. Stephen Iwanowicz, NUWC Keyport commanding officer. “This is a great example that illustrates the Navy’s commitment to being not only good environmental stewards but importantly to continue to strengthen relationships with our Native American neighbors.”

The smolts were transferred from the hatchery to Keyport using fish transfer trucks from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. At Keyport, approximately 196,000 smolts were loaded onto a tribal barge, which took the fish out to a net pen that is slightly smaller than an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The fish will spend nearly three months in the pen acclimating to the salt water environment and imprinting on the area prior to being released.

The fish were bred at the state’s Minter Creek Hatchery and were transferred in January to the Suquamish Tribe’s and City of Bremerton’s Gorst Hatchery, about 20 miles south of NUWC, Keyport. Once they reach the one and a half year-old smolt stage of their life cycle, the coho are ready to transition from living in freshwater to saltwater before heading out to sea.

“The relationship between the tribes and the Navy is a long-term relationship,” said Shaari Unger, Department of Defense (DoD) civilian and operations environmental coordinator. “This is easy; it’s good, if something bad should happen or if we all need to communicate at another time we know each other because we work together on positive things, it’s a good way to keep communication open.”

The Suquamish Tribe restarted its salmon net pen operation last year after a seven-year hiatus. Net pen operations like this are common throughout Puget Sound and are often successful in contributing to Washington fisheries.

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent and tribal elder Mary Ann Youngblood also accompanied tribal members aboard the 52-foot barge for the outings.

The fish transfer project is one of many examples of how Navy Region Northwest is dedicated to preserving the natural environment. In 2009, Keyport was recognized along with Naval Base Kitsap with the Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management. Keyport also received the 2009 Secretary of the Navy’s Energy and Water Management Award.

NUWC Keyport, a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command, provides advanced technical capabilities for test and evaluation, in-service engineering, maintenance and industrial base support, fleet material readiness, and obsolescence management for undersea warfare.