Snake River chinook post record year for redds

A female chinook guards its redd -- the term for a salmon's nest of eggs. (Idaho Department of Fish and Game)

FISHING -- Despite drought conditions in 2015, fall chinook returning to the Snake River set a record for spawning beds for the third straight year, according to new data released by the Nez Perce Tribe

The data shows a record 9,345 redds, or gravel nests, were built by returning adults in the Snake River Basin between Lower Granite and Hells Canyon dams.

According to the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the new record shatters the previous one set in 2014, when about 6,700 reds were counted.

The new record also coincides with the third highest adult Snake River fall chinook return of 59,300, since the four lower Snake River dams were completed more than 40 years ago.

---