Salmon Migration Looks Bleak This Spring Low Numbers Of Wild Steelhead, Chinook Smolts Expected In Snake
Fish experts say water and stream flow conditions are excellent for salmon migration this spring.
The only problem is there are few wild chinook smolts to migrate.
In fact, the migration may be the lowest in history.
“We’re predicting only 220,000 wild chinook smolts to Lower Granite Dam, the lowest migration in history,” said Idaho Fish and Game Department biologist Dave Cannamela.
Cannamela said the number of wild chinook salmon reaching Lower Granite Dam, on the Snake River in southeastern Washington, never dipped below 1 million from 1983 to 1990.
Last year, 1.3 million wild chinook made it.
Biologists estimate only 0.5 percent of the Snake River basin’s salmon smolts make it back to their home waters to complete the cycle.
That means there will be a heavy toll on the 220,000 wild and 1.7 million hatchery-raised smolts heading downstream this spring.
The steelhead outlook isn’t much better.
The Snake River basin is expected to send only 567,000 wild steelhead smolts to Lower Granite Dam, down 126,000 from last year.
The 1995 run was down from the year before, which, in turn, was lower than 1993.
While 8.3 million hatchery-raised steelhead will migrate alongside the wild steelhead this spring, fish managers say experience indicates that as the wild salmon runs decline, the overall runs inevitably will decline, too.
River and ocean conditions are good this year. A wet winter has left ample water and good snowpacks.
If the snow melts at the right rate, biologists expect good river flows and better smolt survival than during the drought years of the early 1990s.
More food also is expected in the portion of the northern Pacific Ocean where Snake River salmon roam and feed.
xxxx NUMBERS Biologists estimate only 0.5 percent of the Snake River basin’s salmon smolts make it back to their home waters to complete the cycle.