Uploaded January 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
An edited and annotated compilation of underwater video shot by an interagency dive team studying the influences of the removal of dams on the Elwha River. This video highlights different fish species observed in the nearshore zone near the Elwha River mouth. The removal of two dams on the Elwha River in Washington State occurred between 2011 and 2014, and led to ecological changes in the nearshore zone near the river mouth. See Rubin et al., 2017 (journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187742) for details
This video is part of the Elwha Nearshore Benthic Marine Community Surveys project. Visit the website at https://elwhanearshore.ocean.washington.edu/index.html for more information and videos.
This video has no audio. Below is a description of what it shows:
The Elwha nearshore has an abundance of fish species. A large school of hundreds of silvery fish swim by. Large schools of Pacific herring are common.
Ratfish are a unique fish, seemingly unafraid of divers. A ratfish with spots swims next to the camera and then right up to a diver with a reel of tape.
Rockfish are found near areas of larger boulders. A large, grey rockfish swims away from the camera through kelp. A smaller, yellow and black rockfish swims away through kelp.
Great sculpins are a bottom dwelling species who prefer to sit on silty substrates.
This sailfin sculpin is well camouflaged, clinging to kelp stalks covered with hydroids. The sailfin sculpin looks like the fringe on the kelp until a diver touches it.
A diver helps this small sculpin find food in the bottom substrate. A diver digs through rock and sand with a finger and a sculpin, smaller than the diver’s finger hunts in the disturbed sediment.
Gunnels hide among seaweed and rocks. A diver pulls aside kelp to show a long, thin gunnel.
Two species of skates are found in the Elwha nearshore. This one is a Pacific big skate. A flat, broad skate sits on the sea floor. A different Pacific big skate swims away from the camera into the murky water.
A large school of spiny dogfish was feeding on forage fish right off the river mouth in July of 2011. Several dogfish swim almost out of sight in the water. A dogfish swims above the camera and then another swims beside the camera then turns away.
An edited and annotated compilation of underwater video shot by an interagency dive team studying the influences of the removal of dams on the Elwha River. This video highlights different fish species observed in the nearshore zone near the Elwha River mouth. The removal of two dams on the Elwha River in Washington State occurred between 2011 and 2014, and led to ecological changes in the nearshore zone near the river mouth. See Rubin et al., 2017 (journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187742) for details
This video is part of the Elwha Nearshore Benthic Marine Community Surveys project. Visit the website at https://elwhanearshore.ocean.washington.edu/index.html for more information and videos.
This video has no audio. Below is a description of what it shows:
The Elwha nearshore has an abundance of fish species. A large school of hundreds of silvery fish swim by. Large schools of Pacific herring are common.
Ratfish are a unique fish, seemingly unafraid of divers. A ratfish with spots swims next to the camera and then right up to a diver with a reel of tape.
Rockfish are found near areas of larger boulders. A large, grey rockfish swims away from the camera through kelp. A smaller, yellow and black rockfish swims away through kelp.
Great sculpins are a bottom dwelling species who prefer to sit on silty substrates.
This sailfin sculpin is well camouflaged, clinging to kelp stalks covered with hydroids. The sailfin sculpin looks like the fringe on the kelp until a diver touches it.
A diver helps this small sculpin find food in the bottom substrate. A diver digs through rock and sand with a finger and a sculpin, smaller than the diver’s finger hunts in the disturbed sediment.
Gunnels hide among seaweed and rocks. A diver pulls aside kelp to show a long, thin gunnel.
Two species of skates are found in the Elwha nearshore. This one is a Pacific big skate. A flat, broad skate sits on the sea floor. A different Pacific big skate swims away from the camera into the murky water.
A large school of spiny dogfish was feeding on forage fish right off the river mouth in July of 2011. Several dogfish swim almost out of sight in the water. A dogfish swims above the camera and then another swims beside the camera then turns away.
![Off The Hook [Part 2]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/typN7z51ITo/mqdefault.jpg "Off The Hook [Part 2]
Part 2 of 3: Series created to educate and inform the public about the ongoing threat of Seabird Bycatch. Produced by Washington Sea Grant")
