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Helping families connect with nature
Hatchery History
Kooskia National Fish Hatchery, authorized by Congress in August 1961, was established to rear spring chinook salmon
for release into the Clearwater River basin. The hatchery is located 1.5 miles southeast of Kooskia, Idaho near the
confluence of Clear Creek and the Middle Fork Clearwater River. Construction of the hatchery was started in 1966. Fish
production, begun in 1969, established runs of adult spring chinook salmon returning to Clear Creek. Smolts released from
the hatchery return 2-3 years later as 7-20 pound adults.
In 2007, the certification of the Snake River Basin Adjudication settlement included transfer of hatchery management to the Nez Perce Tribe, who are responsible for the day-to-day fish production, supporting the goal to raise and release up to 600,000 juvenile spring Chinook salmon annually. |
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USFWS
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Spring Chinook Salmon Production
Adult salmon are trapped at Kooskia from May through August, and transported to Dworshak hatchery for spawning. Eyed
eggs are returned to Kooskia in the fall, where they are incubated, hatched and reared. They are released 18 months later
into Clear Creek, to migrate 540 miles past 8 dams to the Pacific Ocean. Salmon smolts released at the hatchery return
2-3 years later as adult fish. |
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USFWS
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Last updated:
August 12, 2009
