STEP Volunteers Release 32,000 Fall Chinook Salmon Smolt

32,000 fall Chinook salmon smolt were released Sunday, September 28th. These fish were raised from eyed eggs to young smolt 6 to 7 inches in length at the ODFW Elk River hatchery. This completes our 2025 releases with 16,000 pre-smolt released this spring. Now north Pacific Ocean conditions and predators will dictate how many returning adults we will get in three to four years.

Our broodstock trap is in and fishing to provide adult salmon for egg harvest. Everyone is hoping for a good return.