Thank you for attending the 2024 Salmon Release!

Thank you for joining us for the 2024 Salmon Release! We released over 150 salmon fry with the help of dozens of community members. The next season of salmon rearing will begin in January 2025.

Background:

Since 2020, the City of SeaTac has raised salmon each year to be released into Des Moines Creek. The Coho Salmon eggs are picked up from the Soos Creek Hatchery at the beginning of the year and when they grow into "fry", they are released into the Des Moines Creek in the Spring. The salmon spend about a year feeding and growing in the creek before migrating out to the Puget Sound and ocean. There, they continue to grow for about a year and a half. At the end of their life, the salmon will return to their “natal stream”, or the stream they were born in, to spawn. They will lay eggs and the cycle starts over again.

One of the factors impacting salmon health in our creeks is urban runoff. When it rains, water is washed into storm drains and enters nearby creeks and waterways mostly without any treatment. This water can carry pollutants that impact salmon. Over the last few decades as more and more roads, parking lots, and buildings are built, more stormwater runs off and into our streams.

Today, the pre-spawn mortality of salmon in Miller Creek, one of our local creeks, is 2 out of 3. This means that 2 out of 3 salmon that return to the creek are dying before they are able to reproduce and carry on the next generation of salmon.

There are many things that can help make the stormwater runoff cleaner and improve salmon health.

Check your car for leaks: leaking oil and other car fluids are washed into storm drains when it rains and pollute our creeks.

Don’t use chemicals in your yard: Fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides can wash into water and harm aquatic creatures in our streams. Use natural yard care alternatives.

Pick up dog waste: if you have a pet, pick up their poop and throw it into the garbage. Bacteria from pet waste can wash into our waterways and pollute streams.

Wash your car at a commercial car wash: Water from a commercial car wash gets treated but when you wash your car in your driveway or street, soapy water washes into the storm drain. Even “natural” soap is unhealthy for creeks.

Pick up litter: Litter can be carried into our storm drains and go straight into a creek.

Report spills on the road or in storm drains: The City cleans up and investigates spills to prevent pollution from getting into our waterways. Call the spill hotline if you see something: 206-973-4770 during business hours (and 206-296-8100 after-hours). Visit our Spill Hotline page for more information on reporting spills.