Friday June 17, 2022
KCBY —
The Coquille Indian Tribe released 1,000 salmon into the Coquille River Wednesday, the first of thousands more expected to be released by the tribe and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
According to the tribe, the fall Chinook run in the tribe’s namesake river was nearing extinction. The tribe partnered with ODFW to produce “pre-smolts” to be released into the river.
“This is the first of many more generations of fish that will go into their native system from Coquille Tribal lands,” said Brenda Meade, the tribe’s chairman.
Those juvenile salmon will head out to sea, and the hardiest of them will return to the Coquille River system to spawn.