{"id":29937,"date":"2025-10-09T16:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T16:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=29937"},"modified":"2025-11-14T17:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T17:49:59","slug":"the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2025\/10\/09\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\/","title":{"rendered":"The mystery of the Hoh River Spring Chinook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Like a crooked elbow, a long sandbar stretches across the mouth of the Hoh River on Washington\u2019s Olympic Peninsula, a thin buffer from the Pacific Ocean. Just inside the bar, calm, brackish water offers refuge for salmon.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-media-columns\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p><strong>Spring Chinook in particular, love this big, emerald blue pool just yards from the sea<\/strong>. Many linger here in summer and early fall: a reason why it\u2019s long been an important fishing area for members of the Hoh Tribe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And yet, in both 2020 and 2022, the Hoh Tribe largely closed its spring Chinook fishery, concerned by forecasts predicting poor returns of salmon to this 56-mile system<\/strong>. The Tribe&#8217;s closures aimed to help the run rebound. And in 2024, Tribal experts noted that escapement numbers\u2014adult fish that pass upriver before harvest begins\u2014were the highest since 2002.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-media\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lighthawk_LK-HohRiver-7-29-2017-3063.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p>Photo Credit: <strong>Luke Kelly, Trout Unlimited<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\t\tJust inside the sheltered elbow of the Hoh River estuary, hundreds of spring Chinook salmon have been obsered. The mystery is where do they go next\u2014further upriver to spawn, or back out to sea, aiming for other rivers?\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Tribe has long focused on making sure escapement goals are met upriver. But what of the large numbers of spring Chinook pooling in the estuary?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEven in years when we expected low numbers of Chinook and the fishery was closed, we still observed many Chinook hanging out in the lower river,\u201d says James Losee, Wild Salmon Center\u2019s Senior Wild Fish Manager for Washington State. \u201cIt didn\u2019t always make sense with what we were seeing upriver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cEven in years when we expected low numbers of Chinook, we still observed many hanging out in the lower river. It didn\u2019t always make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Wild Salmon Center Washington Senior Wild Fish Manager James Losee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For Tribal fishery managers and research partners like Losee,<\/strong> <strong>that potential disconnect raised a question: what if these fish in the estuary aren\u2019t actually Hoh River salmon<\/strong>?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSalmon migrating along ocean coastlines have been known to take breaks on their way home,\u201d Losee says. \u201cThey\u2019re called \u201cdip-ins.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-image\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/SpringChinook2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\tEvery year, large numbers of spring Chinook salmon hang out in the Hoh River estuary. A new fish tracking project aims to find out if these are temporary visitors from other rivers, or fish that eventually will head further upriver to spawn.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p>With its cold, glacial waters, Losee says, the Hoh estuary would be a fantastic place to slow down for a bit on the long journey back to other home rivers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf these fish lingering in the estuary are tourists, just stopping by to visit, the next thing we\u2019d want to know is if they\u2019re from large healthy populations,\u201d Losee says. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, that might reopen some fishing options for Tribal fishers while we work to figure out what\u2019s really going on with the Hoh\u2019s native wild fish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To solve these interlocking mysteries, the Hoh Tribe invited Wild Salmon Center and other partners to join forces to genetically identify these fish and acoustically track them, potentially across oceans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur first duty is to protect the fish in our home rivers,\u201d says Bernard Afterbuffalo, a Hoh Tribal member and the Tribe\u2019s Natural Resources Technician. \u201cBut fishing is also our way of life. That\u2019s why we\u2019re very interested to see what we can learn from our fish tracking project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cFishing is our way of life. That\u2019s why we\u2019re very interested to see what we can learn from our fish tracking project.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Hoh Tribe Natural Resources Technician Bernard Afterbuffalo<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-image\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-029.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\tOver summer 2025, Hoh Tribe natural resource experts and other partners accompanied Wild Salmon&#8217;s Center&#8217;s James Losee on many field trips throughout the Hoh River Basin to tag wild fish and install telemetry devices along riverbanks.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The project began in earnest in spring and summer 2025, as Losee and Tribal fishery staff spent days in the Hoh River estuary simulating the traditional Tribal fishery to catch adult spring Chinook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Moving quickly between live wells of river water, the team safely sedated each fish and performed a three-minute surgery to attach what Losee calls a \u201cbackpack\u201d\u2014an acoustically-tagged saddle to broadcast the fish\u2019s location<\/strong>. Then, the team carefully released each fish back into the water.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-media-columns\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>The team also spent time bushwhacking throughout the watershed. Near the edges of the Hoh mainstem and several tributaries, they installed more than a dozen telemetry devices\u2014each resembling a two-liter bottle of soda pop\u2014to listen for fish with acoustic tags and report back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the tracking project enters data collection. For the next two years, the Hoh\u2019s listening devices will record any passing spring Chinook wearing a backpack (along with additional fish species tagged from this and other projects). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Combined with genetic analysis, this information can help solve the mystery of whether any of the estuary springers are native to the Hoh<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To track the movements of the rest\u2014potential dip-ins from other rivers\u2014the team is tapping into a growing network of similar telemetry devices up and down the Pacific Coast.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-media\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-015-e1762981295633.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p>Photo Credit: <strong>Wild Salmon Center<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\t\tHoh Tribal member Phil Riebe holds up an acoustic tracking device, referred to as a &#8220;backpack.&#8221; Surgically attached to dozens of spring Chinook  in the Hoh River, these devices can help us track where they go next\u2014whether farther upriver to spawn, or back out to sea, heading for other rivers.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is an exciting time to be a salmon tracker,\u201d Losee says. \u201cPretty much anywhere from Alaska to California, we can see almost in real-time where these salmon go. We can basically follow them to their home rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThis is an exciting time to be a salmon tracker. Anywhere from Alaska to California, we can see almost in real-time where these salmon go.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Wild Salmon Center Washington Senior Wild Fish Manager James Losee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-image\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/chinook-distribution.jpg\" alt=\"Chinook Distribution\">\n\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p>Photo Credit: <strong>\u00a9 Atlas of Pacific Salmon (X. Augerot) 2005<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\tThe full range of Chinook salmon across the Pacific Rim. While most adult Chinook find their way back to the river of their birth after their ocean life stage, a percentage of every population strays. With our partners, we aim to find out whether the Hoh&#8217;s mysterious estuary springers are native fish, strays, or temporary dip-ins from other rivers.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p>If Chinook salmon caught in the Hoh ultimately travel on to other home rivers, it could mean that some could be harvested without impacting Hoh spring Chinook. <strong>This ambitious project could also shed light on questions that go well beyond the Hoh\u2014such as how best to balance fishing and conservation efforts up and down the West Coast.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-media-columns\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we decide whether to fish or not, these are decisions we can make here as a Tribe, within our community,\u201d Afterbuffalo says. \u201cBut if we do our part in the Hoh to recover salmon and yet fish keep suffering, then the solutions need to be bigger as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data collection like this is a big step in the right direction, Losee says. The more we know about how Hoh salmon move in ocean and freshwater, the more options the Hoh Tribe has to steward its fishery and advance international salmon science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Across the Pacific, fish tracking projects like this are on the rise\u2014starting with work by Wild Salmon Center and our partners to bring this novel science to other river systems across the Pacific Rim<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wsc-column wsc-media\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-017.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p>Photo Credit: <strong>Wild Salmon Center<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\t\tWild Salmon Center&#8217;s James Losee with a telemetry device ready to be installed on the Hoh River mainstem.\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat we learn in the Hoh could support Tribal fishers to get back on the water sooner,\u201d Losee says. \u201cBut this project is also a perfect example of the nexus between salmon science, fish management, and treaty rights. Big picture science like this really does show what could be possible in other salmon rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cBig picture science like this really does show what could be possible in other salmon rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Wild Salmon Center Washington Senior Wild Fish Manager James Losee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsc-block-image\">\n\t<div class=\"wsc-image-holder\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-002.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t<div class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"credit-btn\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"credit-info\"><p>Photo Credit: <strong>Wild Salmon Center<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wsc-caption\">\n\t\tProject partners out in the field. Pictured: Hoh Tribe natural resource experts, Wild Salmon Center staff, and other partners including colleagues at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"acf-fields-container\" data-post-id=\"29937\" data-canto-acf=\"true\"><div class=\"acf-field-image\" data-field-name=\"hero_image_home\" data-field-type=\"image\"><h3 class=\"acf-field-label\">Hero Image (Home Page Section)<\/h3><img src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AK-Yukon-Chinook_shutterstock-Martin-Rudlof-768x572-1-e1758133531422.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"acf-image\" data-id=\"28773\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AK-Yukon-Chinook_shutterstock-Martin-Rudlof-768x572-1-e1758133531422.jpg\" \/><\/div><\/div><style>\r\n        .acf-fields-container {\r\n            margin: 2em 0;\r\n            width: 100%;\r\n            clear: both;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-field-image {\r\n            margin: 1.5em 0;\r\n            position: relative;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-field-label {\r\n            margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-image {\r\n            max-width: 100%;\r\n            height: auto;\r\n            display: block;\r\n            margin: 1em 0;\r\n        }\r\n    <\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With our partners, we\u2019re tracking fish deep into the Olympic Peninsula. This work could make a big difference for Hoh Tribal fishers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":30611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/blog-new-layout.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,78,48],"tags":[25,43,66],"class_list":["post-29937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-notes-from-the-field","category-science","tag-chinook","tag-indigenous-fisheries","tag-olympic-peninsula"],"acf":[],"canto_acf_fields":"<div class=\"acf-fields-container\" data-post-id=\"29937\" data-canto-acf=\"true\"><div class=\"acf-field-image\" data-field-name=\"hero_image_home\" data-field-type=\"image\"><h3 class=\"acf-field-label\">Hero Image (Home Page Section)<\/h3><img src=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AK-Yukon-Chinook_shutterstock-Martin-Rudlof-768x572-1-e1758133531422.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"acf-image\" data-id=\"28773\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AK-Yukon-Chinook_shutterstock-Martin-Rudlof-768x572-1-e1758133531422.jpg\" \/><\/div><\/div><style>\r\n        .acf-fields-container {\r\n            margin: 2em 0;\r\n            width: 100%;\r\n            clear: both;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-field-image {\r\n            margin: 1.5em 0;\r\n            position: relative;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-field-label {\r\n            margin-bottom: 1em;\r\n        }\r\n        .acf-image {\r\n            max-width: 100%;\r\n            height: auto;\r\n            display: block;\r\n            margin: 1em 0;\r\n        }\r\n    <\/style>","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The mystery of the Hoh River Spring Chinook - Wild Salmon Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2025\/10\/09\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The mystery of the Hoh River Spring Chinook - Wild Salmon Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With our partners, we\u2019re tracking fish deep into the Olympic Peninsula. This work could make a big difference for Hoh Tribal fishers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2025\/10\/09\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Salmon Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thewildsalmoncenter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T16:19:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-14T17:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-047.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1176\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ramona DeNies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wildsalmoncntr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wildsalmoncntr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ramona DeNies\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ramona DeNies\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40b3daf2d7d956c9191c49c4830a3103\"},\"headline\":\"The mystery of the Hoh River Spring Chinook\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-09T16:19:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-14T17:49:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1070,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/Washington-Hoh-River-2025-JLosee-047.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"chinook\",\"Indigenous fisheries\",\"Olympic Peninsula\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Notes from the Field\",\"Science Initiatives\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wildsalmoncenter.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/09\\\/the-mystery-of-the-hoh-river-spring-chinook\\\/\",\"name\":\"The mystery of the Hoh River Spring Chinook - 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