Sea lions, seals and birds flock to Drayton Harbor

Sea lions at Semiahmoo Marina on March 29. Photo by Joe Meche

By Oliver Lazenby

Spawning herring in Semiahmoo Bay have attracted sea lions, seals and multitudes of birds to the mouth of Drayton Harbor in recent weeks.

Todd Sandell, a senior forage fish biologist with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, found herring spawn outside Drayton Harbor in Semiahmoo Bay on April 9, and inside Drayton Harbor earlier this year, he said.

These particular herring are from what fish and wildlife call the Semiahmoo Bay stock, which typically spawn in or near Semiahmoo Bay.

Another nearby group, the Cherry Point stock, tends to spawn later in the spring or early summer, Sandell said.

Herring are an important forage fish in the Puget Sound ecosystem.