Science & technology | Salmon conservation

Something fishy

There are more salmon in the Columbia River. Not everybody is happy

May 24th 2001|

THIS spring, around 375,000 adult chinook salmon are expected to make their way over the Bonneville hydroelectric dam as they swim up the Columbia River between Washington state and Oregon to reach their spawning grounds. In one day alone, 27,000 chinook leapt and bounded up the salmon ladders next to the dam—almost three times the number recorded in the whole of 1995. For many, this is a welcome display of the sea's bounty; for the first time since 1977 there are enough chinook in the river to allow them to be fished commercially.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Something fishy”