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Rearing Salmon on the Deschutes River
The
Deschutes River lower falls was historically an impassable
barrier to salmon and other anadromous fish, preventing a
native salmon run on the river.
In 1954, the Department
of Fisheries constructed fish ladders to allow fish to
circumnavigate the falls and rapids. A facility to capture
returning salmon was established adjacent to the upper falls
in 1964.
In the mid 70s more than 10 million fall
chinook salmon were released annually from the facility;
today, the annual release is about 4 million chinook. These
fish contribute to recreational and tribal fisheries
throughout Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Coho salmon were introduced into the Deschutes watershed in
the 1970s. Established with hatchery fish, this run of
salmon has been allowed to maintain itself through natural
propagation.
Every spring, a portion of the
out-migrating juvenile coho are counted and an estimate is
made of how successful the coho were in producing young
salmon. The information gathered from this work has provided
biologists with valuable insights into the ability of an
introduced salmon stock to maintain itself throughout the
years.
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