150 Chinook salmon to be released in Spokane River Wednesday

The Spokane Tribe will release 150 adult Chinook salmon into the Spokane River at the Sandifur Bridge, Wednesday. The release is part of the Spokane Tribes and other Upper Columbia tribes longstanding efforts to sustainably reintroduce salmon into the upper reaches of the Columbia River basin.

The release, which is open to the public, coincides with the 52nd annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Spokane. Roughly 1,500 fish and water scientist, educators and policymakers from around the world are in Spokane for the weeklong conference. 

Some of those professionals, alongside county and city officials and other tribal representatives will be at Wednesday’s release, said Brent Nichols, fisheries manager of the Spokane Tribe of Indian.

“It’s a Spokane tribe led event because it’s on our homelands and in our waters,” he said. 

The event starts at 1 p.m. with the release scheduled between 2 and 2:30 p.m. The fish won’t be tagged and the event is more about building awareness of the Spokane and other Upper Columbia river tribe’s ongoing efforts to reestablish sustainable salmon runs, Nichols said.