NORTH BONNEVILLE, Wash. (AP) — Biologists say the numbers of salmon and steelhead heading up the Columbia River are well above average, including a record run of sockeye.
Officials at NOAA Fisheries tell the Tri-City Herald that the chinook run is 140 percent above the 10-year average, while the sockeye run of more that 353,000 fish is a record. They credit favorable ocean conditions, improvement in habitat and hatchery practices, and work to improve fish passage at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
The steelhead count at Bonneville Dam last week was 244 percent above the average. And biologists say returns of wild and hatchery salmon and steelhead appear promising for next year and beyond.
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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com
