Where are the Chinook Salmon?

There was a time just 20 years ago that you could go to the major rivers in the Pacific Northwest and see Chinook salmon jumping for miles and miles. And just 40 years ago you could literally stick you hand in the river and it would be a matter of minute you could pluck one out of the river. Well sad to say that this is more of a dream than reality as the Chinook Salmon stocks have dry up and now on the endangered species list.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae

Species: For the Chinook, races are determined by the timing of adult entry into fresh water. A "winter chinook" run is recognized in the Sacramento River. O. tshawytscha also known as the king salmon, tyee salmon, Columbia River salmon, black salmon, chub salmon, hook bill salmon, winter salmon, Spring Salmon, Quinnat Salmon and blackmouth.

Life Cycle: Chinook spawn from late summer to late fall. Fry and smolts usually stay in fresh water from 1 to 18 months before traveling downstream to estuaries, where they remain up to 189 days. Chinook salmon spend 1 to 8 years at sea before returning to natal streams to spawn.

Range: Chinook salmon range from Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, to Santa Barbara, California. Spawning and rearing Chinook are found in most of the rivers in this region, with significant runs in the Columbia River, Rogue River, and Puget Sound.
Food: Chinook feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods, and other crustaceans while young, and primarily on other fish when older. They also feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphipods, and other crustaceans while young, and on other fish when older.

Habitat: Freshwater streams and estuaries provide important habitat for Chinook salmon. Eggs are laid in deeper water with larger gravel, and need cool water and good water flow (to supply oxygen) to survive. Estuaries provide vital nursery areas for the Chinook prior to its departure to the open ocean.

Threats: Pollution, destruction of estuaries, over fishing, agricultural operations, artificial barriers like canal and pipeline crossings, erosion-control structures, flood-control structures, pits from gravel mining, road crossings (e.g., bridges, culverts, and low-water fords), forestry operations, gravel extraction, illegal harvest, streambed alteration, substandard fish screens on diversions, urbanization, and water demand exceeding availability.

Slag discharge onto the Colombia River

Smelting discharge onto the Colombia River

The rise and fall of Salmon stocks to long-term changes in climate, atmospheric pressure, and water temperature create ocean conditions are sometimes favorable to salmon survival and sometimes not. But this is Mother Nature and the cycle of life. However, the human factor has played a large part in the Chinook salmon stocks depletion over the years. As pollution and destruction of the salmon habitats continues, we as humans have the ability to bring the salmon numbers back if we would be mindful through proper conservation techniques.

There was a time just 20 years ago that you could go to the major rivers in the Pacific Northwest and see Chinook salmon jumping for miles and miles. And just 40 years ago you could literally stick you hand in the river and it would be a matter of minute you could put one out of the river. Well sad to say that this is more of a dream than reality as the Chinook Salmon stocks have dry up and now on the endangered species list. Chinook Salmon are typically divided into "races" with "spring chinook", "summer chinook", and "fall chinook" being most common. The Chinook salmon is blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white bellies; black spots on the upper half of its body with gray/black mouth coloration.

In the early to late 80’s the Colombia River was consistently on the top 5 most polluted rivers in the US. From Canada to the US, companies have been polluting the river which has had a drastic effect on the salmon population. Whether it is chemical plants, smelting companies, mining, electrical or forestry these have been all major causations to the decrease and diminishing Chinook salmon stocks and their estuaries and tributaries.

Today the decline of Wild Columbia and Snake River Salmon Continues as fewer than 67,000 adult spring Chinook crossed Bonneville Dam this year, the first of eight dams salmon must navigate during their upstream migration to Idaho through the Columbia-Snake river system. That’s 30% below last year’s number, significantly below the 10-year average, and only a fraction of the 400,000-plus fish needed for sustained recovery. Summer Chinook returns at Bonneville registered less than half of the 2006 count, and only about two-thirds of the 10-year average.

As human we have dug up, polluted the habitat of the Chinook salmon so much the numbers have declined so much that the runs might not ever return. As human we have an obligation to restore the estuaries, clean up our waters and not block the traditional salmon routes that have been run since the dawn of man.

The Chinook is not just a fish it is a source of identity in the Pacific Northwest, a symbol of tradition for the Natives and a food resource for the economy. If the Chinook no longer return to the Columbia River then the whole economy will be drastically affected. We have to all do our part to bring back a proud symbol of the Northwest, not only for us but for future generations to follow.