Something's missing in Washington state this year. More specifically, lots of fish are missing.
Historically low numbers of coho salmon and wild steelhead have returned to Washington's coastal streams in 2023. The Quinault Indian Nation reported low catch numbers for coho salmon in October. Then, on November 27, officials with Olympic National Park announced low numbers of wild steelhead in their rivers.
These numbers point to serious problems for both fish and people. As the runs of these fish continue to decline, they face the possibility of collapsing. At the very least, the low numbers from rivers that once teamed with salmon and steelhead indicate a distressed ecosystem. Such distress will impact people who depend on the fish for sustenance and their livelihoods.
In response to the troubling numbers, the Quinault Indian Nation closed its fisheries in Grays Harbor and on the Queets River. Olympic National Park took a similar step by closing the Queets, Salmon, and Quinault rivers to steelhead fishing.
With so many fish missing from Washington's rivers, something's definitely wrong in the Pacific Northwest.
