State sees record-breaking year for sockeye salmon

Washington is seeing a record-breaking sockeye salmon run this year despite a July heatwave that threatened a kill-off in the Okanogan River.

By the numbers: Nearly 756,000 sockeye were recorded over the Bonneville Dam as of this week, far above the 10-year-average of 329,570, according to the Fish Passage Center .

• More than 700,000 sockeye were counted at the Dalles Dam and 663,000 at the John Day Dam this year compared with 295,000 and 282,000, respectively, last year, per the passage center.

Why it matters: The surge is a tangible sign of success for a water management plan adopted in 2014 that has Indian tribes, dam operators and fish managers in the U.S. and Canada working together to ensure optimum river water levels as fish cross nine dams, the Seattle Times reports .

• Ongoing restoration projects that bolster salmon ecosystems and hatcheries are also credited with helping rebuild populations, per the Times .

Yes, but: Human-caused climate change continues to pose a serious threat because warming water temperatures can keep cold-water salmon from reaching their spawning grounds.

• Washington's successful sockeye runs this year stand in contrast with the fate of some other salmon species, which are struggling in warming rivers.
• Only about 220 endangered Snake River sockeyes made it over the Lower Granite Dam in Idaho earlier this year, the Times reported .