Grays River (Washington) - Natural History

Natural History

Grays River supports populations of Coho salmon, sea-run Cutthroat trout, and winter-run steelhead trout. While the river's coho numbers are fairly low—about one hundred per year—and the cutthroat numbers are low, the steelhead are a draw for sport fishing. In addition Sturgeon are present just off the river's mouth in Grays Bay.

Estimates of historical fish populations range from 1,500-10,000 chinook salmon, 8,000-14,000 chum salmon, and 5,000-40,000 coho salmon. Currently the number of natural spawning returns is 100-300 chinook and 500-10,000 chum. Current natural coho salmon return numbers are not known but are assumed to be low.

The fish draw sea lions to the river during the migration seasons.

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