Visit Us
Adult coho return to the hatchery in late September - early October. Spawning takes place in late October into November. Eggs are in incubation trays for the next few months, growing and developing. The eggs hatch and continue to grow through the winter in these trays. In spring the swim-up fry are moved to outdoor raceways where they are fed a special diet of fish food. These young salmon are kept through the year and will be released the following spring in late March to early April, depending on weather. Rain is desired to assist with flushing the salmon out to the ocean.
The hatchery has been instrumental in the restoration of coho salmon to the Clearwater River system in Idaho and the Yakima River in central Washington. The hatchery's partners in these efforts are the Nez Perce Tribe and the Yakama Nation.
Other Facilities in the Complex
We're part of the Columbia River Gorge National Fish Hatchery Complex, which includes the Carson, Eagle Creek, Little White Salmon, Spring Creek, Warm Springs, and Willard National Fish Hatcheries. Our Complex propagates, releases, and transfers to partners over 25 million salmon to meet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fisheries mitigation, restoration, and tribal trust responsibilities. Explore what each facility has to offer!
