It’s Salmon Season - Get Outside to View Salmon this Fall

The salmon are here and you can view and experience the journey of our salmon at viewing locations near you. Each fall, salmon make the long trek to spawn in the streams and rivers across our Puget Sound region. Salmon in King County watersheds include anadromous species that connect freshwater and marine habitats in Puget Sound, including Chinook, sockeye, coho, chum, and pink salmon. In the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed, only Chinook, sockeye and coho Salmon return through the Ballard Locks on their way through the watershed. We also have a special little red fish, kokanee salmon, that unlike other Pacific salmon does do not go out to the ocean, but spend their entire lifecycle in fresh water, moving from streams as inch-long fry to lakes (like Lake Sammamish) until they return to their natal streams 3-4-years later to spawn.

Our friends at King County provided some information on the current salmon counts. As of mid- August sockeye count through Ballard locks is approximately 23,141 which is one of the lowest returns on record since 1972. Chinook began their journey in early July and they have counted approximately 6, 428 which is a bit higher than the 5- year and 10-year average return. The Coho are anticipated to begin their journey in early September. In recent years the count has been much higher than the number of salmon observed at hatcheries and spawning grounds.

Salmon are an incredibly important cultural, economic, and environmental resource for our region and due to a variety of factors are on the decline. To help our salmon survive there are many practical ways that you can help. Habitat restoration is a key component to improving our fish habitat. You can join many partners working to restore habitat along waterways including joining FLSSP at our restoration site at Lake Sammamish State Park (register here to help improve the habitat along Tibbetts Creek). If your home is on the water consider reducing your artificial lighting at night. Everyone can also practice water conservation (visit the Saving Water Partnership for tips and tools to reduce water use) and water pollution prevention actions.

To better understand our local salmon and the issues they face we encourage you all to go out an see our salmon for yourself. The Salmon SEEson program (linked here) can help you find the best streams and river locations in King County to view the salmon returns. Some locations offer self-guided tours while others feature volunteer naturalist to guide visitors in seeing salmon and learning more about salmon lifecycles.

For more information and educational resources you can visit our Salmon SEEson partners here!