Threatened Chum Salmon Making Comeback in Columbia, Jan. 7

Northwest biologists are closely monitoring chum salmon this winter as they record what might be the largest run of Columbia River chum in 13 years. The 2015 run could be as high as 20,000, making it the largest since 2002. The annual run of Columbia River chum salmon historically numbered more than 1 million. However, habitat loss and other factors caused their numbers to plummet during the last century to a low of just a few thousand per year. The federal government listed Columbia River chum as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999. Called “dog” salmon because of their canine-like teeth, chum are the last salmon of the year to return to the Columbia to spawn, and their young are the first to leave for the ocean in the spring. Chum salmon generally spawn in the lower part of the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, preferring tributaries where warm ground water pushes up through spawning gravel. The warm water quickly incubates their eggs. The Bonneville Power Administration has funded two hatchery programs and construction of new spawning habitat for chum in several areas of the lower Columbia River. In 2011, BPA increased the capacity of two chum salmon spawning channels located on tributaries just below Bonneville Dam. BPA, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal partners, manages river flows from Bonneville Dam to keep chum salmon redds (or nests of eggs) under water during critical times of the year. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is also building a new spawning channel for chum salmon on the Lewis River. It should be completed by summer 2016. Check out NOAA’s Lower Columbia River Recovery Plan for Salmon and Steelhead.