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“Yes, the salmon are dying. You can see them littered along Issaquah Creek. No, it’s not tragic. This is the chinook & coho life cycle. They spawn, then they die. There is nothing nefarious going on, they simply have reached the end of their life cycle. Those culled and spawned at the hatchery are destined to become pet food or fertilizer. Those who die in the creek become nutrients and food for a whole plethora of animals.

Giving Tuesday Participation
This giving season, FISH is partnering with WAgives.org to reach like minded donors and partners. Funding will enhance and support science education & outreach. Over 10,000 school-aged kids visited the hatchery in 2023, educational tours & classroom presentations are the core of what FISH does! FISH offers engaging ways to learn in an outdoor classroom. FISH staff have highlighted five ways to support our mission.   
Find out more here: https://tinyurl.com/mr3r7ndf

This November is a perfect time to re-up your Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) membership. Your subscription:

1. Supports for educational programs and workshops, on salmon conservation and habitat restoration.
2. Opportunities to participate in hands-on activities like fish tagging and monitoring.
3. Network with like-minded individuals passionate about preserving salmon populations.
4. Provides early access to the FISHop Gift Shop.
5. Get Invited to member-only events, such as guided insider tours and salmon release ceremonies.
6. Receive regular updates on hatchery happenings, latest research and advancements in local salmon conservation.
7. Volunteer opportunities to contribute to the hatchery’s efforts in raising and releasing healthy salmon.
8. Provides access to limited release merchandise
9. Grants satisfaction of knowing you are actively contributing to the preservation of a vital species.
10. Supports a sense of community and belonging among fellow members who share a common interest in salmon conservation.

https://www.issaquahfish.org/become-a-fish-member/

Remember 6PPD-quinone? (one of the most toxic to coho chemicals ever tested).  The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is lucky in that we have received enough healthy adults to meet our egg quota, but how many fish died in route that could have contributed to the Washington State fishing economy and the meeting of tribal harvest commitments?  It turns out that we don’t know.  At this point in time, we lack a post mortem protocol to determine if the high pre-spawn mortality we are seeing in the ladder and in Issaquah Creek is due to 6PPD-q or other causes.  If you want to help protect coho, please let your elected representatives know you care.  Our Washington State representatives at all levels know how to spell 6PPD-q, so you don’t need to educate them on the issue, just tell them that it is important to you as a constituent to do something about it. 

Submitted by Larry Franks

There have been 480 coho spawned and 523,000 eggs taken! Hatchery Fish & Wildlife employees, aided by FISH volunteers did the spawning and fertilizing at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. The public can view the spawning on Tuesday mornings at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. The best place to view the coho upstream from the hatchery, is at the Newport Way bridge and along the Issaquah Creek trail.

Hatcheries are essential to meet tribal fishing obligations and to provide salmon for commercial and recreational fishing, orcas, and other wildlife.

#salmoncominghome

Why are there large adult salmon further upstream? Happy to announce 2,469 coho salmon were released upstream to date! Hatchery Fish & Wildlife employees, aided by FISH volunteers did the releasing in two batches. The public can view the releases as well as spawning on Tuesday mornings at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. The best place to view the coho upstream from the hatchery, is at the Newport Way bridge and along the Issaquah Creek trail. You can also view the creek from the nature park just south of the downtown.

Hatcheries are essential to meet tribal fishing obligations and to provide salmon for commercial and recreational fishing, orcas, and other wildlife.

#salmoncominghome

There are those who are concerned that hatchery-produced salmon are ‘weaker’ than ‘wild’ fish. Technically this is statement is true, but it is a very small part of the story.  Let’s examine some facts.

In a wild river situation, one can expect about 5% of eggs successfully laid to produce smolt that make it to the salt water. In a hatchery setting (protecting the eggs, protecting, and feeding the fry until release as smolt) this figure typically exceeds 85%. Yes, this results in the ‘survival of the mediocre’, resulting in adults that are slightly less fecund (produce perhaps 10% fewer eggs).

But bear in mind another fact: 80% of salmon caught in Washington State are of hatchery origin. If hatchery production was to stop, can we trust the prevailing economic, cultural and ecological pressures to preserve that last 20% of ‘wild’ fish? Hatcheries serve a vital role to meet tribal, commercial, and recreational harvest opportunities and commitments.

This fall is a perfect time to re-up your Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) membership. Your subscription:

1. Supports for educational programs and workshops, on salmon conservation and habitat restoration.
2. Opportunities to participate in hands-on activities like fish tagging and monitoring.
3. Network with like-minded individuals passionate about preserving salmon populations.
4. Provides early access to the FISHop Gift Shop.
5. Get Invited to member-only events, such as guided insider tours and salmon release ceremonies.
6. Receive regular updates on hatchery happenings, latest research and advancements in local salmon conservation.
7. Volunteer opportunities to contribute to the hatchery’s efforts in raising and releasing healthy salmon.
8. Provides access to limited release merchandise
9. Grants satisfaction of knowing you are actively contributing to the preservation of a vital species.
10. Supports a sense of community and belonging among fellow members who share a common interest in salmon conservation.

https://www.issaquahfish.org/become-a-fish-member/

The 80% Stories
There is a remarkable recurrence of a particular portion in our shared field of interest: 80%. There are many sources for this data, and some might take umbrage at my rounding off their data, but for the sake of argument:

1) 80% of the Southern Resident Orca population diet consists of Chinook (Lynda Mapes would agree with me)
2) 80% of salmon caught in Washington waters are of hatchery origin (proud WDFW statistic)
3) 80% of salmon caught off BC and SE Alaska are reared in Washington and point South (Kurt Beardslee would find this figure low)

Where does that lead a logical person to consider recovering the 8 threatened Chinook runs originating in the Puget Sound?

Happenings at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

Great time to visit the hatchery! The hatchery is in peak season with 100s of chinook and coho in the stream and 1000s in the holding ponds! Last week 895,000 eggs were taken, 4,000 chinook were trapped and 426 spawned. Thirteen were sent upstream!

The hatchery has a self guided tour as well as an audio tour in five languages. Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is looking for volunteers to help with spawning, since we will have about 4-5 times the normal number of fish. Email: volunteer@issaquahfish.org. The FiSHOP gift shop is open on weekends, make sure to get your keepsakes, gifts and salmon souvenirs. The shop features native and local artisan work, and outdoor gear. Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) is always looking for partners, groups and corporations for riparian restoration projects along our shoreline. Email: execdir@issaquahfish.org with inquiries.  Can’t make it to the hatchery in person? Check out the FISH salmon cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPbieO8Go4w

Become a FISH member today and support the educational and outreach programs at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery:

Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery Annual Membership in Issaquah , WA – PlaceFull

Per Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife policy, all hatchery-origin Chinook and coho are marked by the removal of the adipose fin.  That marking activity is going on right now at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery!  Monica is in charge of this brand-new automated facility, which can mark (clip the adipose) and/or tag (insert a coded wire tag in the snout) over 40,000 fry per day.  They are electronically measured for length, and routed to the appropriate-sized clipper for an exact fit.  The quick and exact process makes a ‘bad clip’ very rare.  These fish are not anesthetized, and routed quickly back to their rearing pond.  Only about 1% cannot be handled automatically, and have to be lightly anesthetized so they can be tagged by hand.