The number of returning fall Chinook salmon on the Columbia River this fall has taken a dramatic upswing. Over the weekend, 107,000 Chinook climbed the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam.
A spokesperson with the Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Sara Thompson says those numbers set a new record. She says "those are the highest numbers over Bonneville Dam since it’s construction.”
Thompson says the record number of returning fish is excellent news for Colombia River Tribes and their fisheries, and she attributes the improvement in the runs to a number of factors.
Thompson: “Improved fish passage, good ocean conditions, The Vernita water agreement, the Hanford reach hatchery, great work by the Nez Perce tribe and snake river fall chinook.”
Thomson says the numbers of wild versus hatchery fish haven’t been determined yet, but the number of wild fish expected to make it all the way to the Snake River is expected to exceed the hatchery numbers.
