I’m a sucker for broadband allowing us to do new and different things – not just do the same things faster. So I loved the story of live streaming fish videos. I wanted to share to spur more good ideas and for folks who may be juggling work and kid management this summer. Maybe watching a little fish via device is just the distraction you need today…

Nature lovers can get a glimpse of salmon runs through a live streaming video. For the second year, the Forest Service is streaming from the bed of Juneau’s Steep Creek on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.

Last year, the Steep Creek fish cam, near the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska, was viewed more than 28,000 times. Viewers watched sockeye and coho salmon – and sometimes just flowing water – for more than 627,000 minutes – or more than 10,000 viewing hours. They posted guesses on the types of fish moving in front of the camera and posted questions, which were answered by Pete Schneider, a fisheries biologist on the Tongass. A viewer even captured on video a portion of the live streaming video just as a bear went into the water, snatched a salmon and walked away to have dinner.

The best viewing times for the Alaska cam are between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The camera operates around the clock, but there’s insufficient light for decent viewing outside these hours. Salmon up to 2 feet long are likely to pass by the cam around mid-July. Viewers also will see the smaller cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden (similar to bull trout).