FISHy Numbers 2023
Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, or FISH for short, celebrated its 30th year in 2023. Founded in 1993, FISH was created by the community to help save the hatchery from closing. In the last year, FISH welcomed more than 200,000 visitors and more than 30,000 students, of which 1 in 5 visited from Title I schools.
Spawning Numbers
Chinook “King” Salmon
- 5,534 Arrived in September
- 3,570,000 Eggs Collected
- 106 Adults Released Upstream
Coho “Silver” Salmon
- 12,500+ Arrived in October
- 1,065,000 Eggs Collected
- 3,271+ Adults Released Upstream
- 2,624+ Adults Released into Coal Creek
Trout Statistics
Rainbow trout raised and released in local lakes:
- 11,500 to Pine Lake
- 6,500 to Beaver Lake
- 8,000 to Lake Desire
Education Tours
50 tours to Seattle YMCA and other community groups and organizations.
356 school tours. 81 of the tours were to Title I schools.
FISH visited more than 50 classrooms, 15 science fairs and 12 outreach events.
Education Exhibit Upgrades
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery serves as an outdoor environmental education center.
FISH refreshed 17 of the 34 interactive displays, with work started in 2024 for the remaining 17.
Salmon on Sunset & Salmon Days
At both of the fall 2023 events, 85 FISH volunteers contributed more than 6,000 hours. More than 1,000 of these hours were contributed during the Salmon Days weekend. During both events, FISH volunteers engaged more than 64,000 visitors and prepped and handed out more than 2,000 free educational bags.
Corporate Partnerships
FISH hosted 14 corporate work groups, with more than 280 volunteers and 1,120 hours logged for habitat restoration projects.
Summer Camps
FISH volunteers hosted 44 kids during Summer Science Camps, giving partial sponsorships to 25%.
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Native Plant Garden
FISH maintained the Native Plant Garden and worked with the Snoqualmie Tribe to translate and produce over 50 interpretive signs that feature both the Latin and the Lushootseed names. An intern from Gibson Ek high school provided all the plant drawings. Gibson Ek interns led more than 100 educational tours.
Arts, Culture & Heritage
FISH programming engaged more than 3,000 community members, and 48 community artists painted fish on the spawning shed doors for the community art project. The history of the hatchery exhibit shared our heritage with more than 4,000 visitors.
