ODFW is looking for volunteers to help with the Fall Chinook Program at Salmon River Hatchery this fall. Staff will activate the fish trap this weekend with the forecasted rain, and volunteer shifts will be available starting next week.

In 2016, Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program volunteers contributed over 500 hours at the Salmon River Hatchery and were responsible for the distribution of adult Chinook salmon to eight Oregon food share organizations. 

Salmon River Hatchery releases 200,000 adipose-marked and coded wire tagged fall Chinook salmon smolts each year to support a popular in-river recreational fishery, supplement ocean recreational and commercial fisheries, and provide information for the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

Salmon River Hatchery fall Chinook are the indicator stock to estimate the exploitation rate for all fall Chinook on the North Oregon coast. The recoveries of these fish in the commercial and sport fisheries in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, along with recoveries at the hatchery and on the spawning grounds, are used to represent the harvest rate of Oregon’s coastal fall Chinook in these fisheries.  

Additional information about the volunteer program can be obtained at midcoaststep.ivolunteer.com or by contacting Christine Clapp at christine.m.clapp@state.or.us or 541-265-8306x253. The Salmon River Hatchery is located at 575 N. North Bank Rd. Otis, Oregon.