Columbia River Endangered Salmon

salmon columbia oregon endangered species

Columbia River Salmon
Endangered Species Recovery

Whether it’s dining on a delicious filet smoked to a flaky perfection or fishing to bring the tasty salmon to the plate in the first place, the Pacific Coast species of salmon play an intricate role in western US and Indigenous culture. Over 230 thousand pounds of salmon taken from the Pacific are consumed each year, contributing to an economic base that includes tens of thousands of jobs and several hundred million in commercial, sports and tourism revenue.

But this was all at risk just a few years ago. Despite significant recovery efforts, in spring 2019 the Columbia River fishery again reported devastating numbers, the salmon return was half of the previous 10-year average. That number had declined to just 12,000 fish in 1979. Based on newspaper articles and historic cannery reports, it is estimated that in the 1800s over ten million salmon and steelhead returned annually on the Columbia alone.

The good news is significant progress has been made since the lower Columbia River was designated an “estuary of national significance” thirty years ago. The 12,000 return in 1979 has increased to as many as 2.3 million salmon and steelhead currently.

In addition, since 2000, more than 28,387 acres of creeks, rivers, and wetlands have been restored along the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Between the 1880s and 1990s, the Columbia estuary shrank by as much as 75% due to dikes and dredging for development, agriculture, and forestry. In addition, the salmon’s ability to move up and downstream has been crippled due to pollution, dam obstructions, reduced river water, and turbidity, to name a few. Disrupted and blocked salmon beds are well-known obstacles to salmon survival, but the inability of juvenile salmon to make it to the ocean contributes to their demise as well. Fully 50-70% of salmon die on the first leg of their journey. This is where estuary restoration can alter the course of each salmon’s life while moving the species toward full recovery goals.

Estuaries are locations where ocean salt water mixes with freshwater at the mouth of rivers. This is where salmon undergo the changes, called smoltification, that allow them to survive in saltwater. The fish change to their familiar silvery color, become buoyant to acclimate to ocean water, learn to breathe differently, and even adapt to living in schools. The process can take from a few days to several weeks which requires a healthy estuary. The juvenile salmon need to find abundant food as well as places to hide from predators, which would include calm waters near beaches, bluffs, and inlets.

In addition to supporting salmon runs, healthy estuaries provide breeding grounds for shellfish and amphibians, as well as food and protection for insects, migrating waterfowl and other species of fish.

In the Columbia, the species of Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead that have been listed as endangered, include Chinook, Steelhead, Chum Salmon, and lower Columbia Coho. Experts estimate that the coho salmon population in Oregon has declined to just 5 to 10% of historic levels.