Cowlitz River Coho return sets record

The News Tribune

A little after 8 a.m. at the Cowlitz River Salmon Hatchery, about 800 coho idle in a narrow concrete channel impatiently leaping at the stainless steel grate barring their journey upriver.

“It’s kind of slow up here right now. A little while ago we had 2,500 or 3,000 fish per day,” said Hatchery Coordinator Jamie Murphy.

Although there are still several months remaining before the last fish returns, officials are already calling this a historic year for hatchery coho salmon returns.

Mark LaRiviere, senior fishery biologist for Tacoma Power, said “this year we broke an all-time record.” Read more