Following Low Spring Salmon Numbers, Average Summer Migration Underway
Fish – lots and lots of fish – are moving past the windows into the fish ladder at Rocky Reach Visitor Center right now. Thad Mosey, senior fish biologist at Rocky Reach Dam, said this year’s adult salmon – Chinook and sockeye – and steelhead are returning to their home waters to spawn.
So far, summer Chinook returns are at about the 10-year average. The numbers of spring Chinook and sockeye are down.
Even so, July and August are the prime fish viewing months with thousands of fish passing the dam and heading upstream. Dan Langager has more.