Chinook & Steelhead Returns to Bonneville Dam, 5/2/17
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The 2017 spring adult Chinook salmon and Steelhead migration to the Columbia River basin has begun. Bonneville dam is the first dam encountered by salmon and steelhead adults as they return to their natal waters to spawn. Fish destined for the middle and upper Columbia and Snake Rivers will encounter 3 more dams (The Dalles, John Day, and McNary). Fish entering the Snake will encounter another 4 dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite). Fish destined for the upper Columbia could encounter an additional 5 dams (Priest Rapids, Wanapum, Rock Island, Rocky Reach, and Wells) . No fish passage is available at Chief Joseph dam, so that is as high in the Columbia that they can reach. Prior to dam construction on the Columbia River, salmon migrated all the way into Canada.
Chinoook
As of 4/30/17, the current and recent past counts of Spring Chinook Salmon that have passed Bonneville dam and entered the Columbia River system are:
2017: 3,347
2016: 34,540
10-yr avg: 56,644
The 2017 returns are only 6% of the 10 year average, which is worrisome. It is not known if the runs are just delayed due to high flows, low river temperatures or if returns are significantly low this year They were predicted to be down only 20% from the 10 year average. Historically, the spring run is half over by now.
Steelhead
The current and recent past counts of Steelhead are:
2017: 2,449
2016: 3,697
10-yr avg: 3,709
Wild Steelhead
The current and recent past counts of Wild Steelhead are:
2017: 864
2016: 1,574
10-yr avg: 1,309
All data is from the Fish Passage Center website (fpc.org)
While what seem to be impressive numbers of fish return to the Columbia River basin today, be aware that historically 17 MILLION salmon returned to the Columbia River each year.