Elk River Fish Hatchery

95161 Elk River Road
Port Orford, Oregon 97465

Situated along Oregon's Northern Siskiyou Coast, just north of Port Orford is the beautiful Elk River. Eight miles east on Elk River Road is the Elk River Fish Hatchery. The hatchery is owned and operated by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The facility was constructed in 1968 and expanded in 1971. Salmon and steelhead smolts produced at the hatchery return as spawning adults to supplement natural populations and contribute to economically important sport and commercial fisheries.  

Hatchery Production: Fall Chinook Salmon - Our largest program is the annual production of fall Chinook salmon smolts. They are called fall Chinook because mature adults leave the ocean to spawn in fresh water when the rainy season begins in October and November. We produce 325,000 smolts for Elk River, 150,000 smolts for Chetco River, and smaller numbers of smolts as needed for other south coast streams such as the Winchuck and Pistol Rivers and Euchre Creek. The smolts are released to the streams of their origin when they are about nine months old.

Winter Steelhead: We also rear 50,000 winter steelhead smolts annually for the Chetco River. Smolts are just over one year old when they are released in April of each year.

Rainbow Trout: A newcomer to Elk River Hatchery is the production of rainbow trout. We raise 700 trout for our annual lunkers program, which is a special project to release large trout (3-6 pounds each) into Floras Lake, Garrison Lake and Libby Pond.

Life Cycle of Chinook Salmon: The natural cycle of fall Chinook salmon is an incredible adventure in survival. Beginning with the eggs deposited in a gravel nest, or redd, the many forces of nature take their toll. While each adult spawning pair will leave 3,000-6,000 eggs in the gravel, only a relative few will survive to hatch. Even fewer will emerge from the redd as free-swimming fry. Over the next year predators, disease, flood, drought and pollution reduce the numbers of fish surviving to the smolt stage, when young salmon undergo the physiological changes necessary to migrate to the Pacific Ocean. After one to six years in the ocean feeding on krill, crab spawn, herring, shrimp, squid, anchovies and other fish species, Chinook salmon mature to the spawning physiology. They use their keen sense of smell to find the way back to their native streams. As adult salmon enter fresh water they lose the ability to digest food, so they survive to spawn by using the energy reserves stored in fat, flesh, blood and bones. After spawning, all salmon die, but even in death they contribute valuable nutrients to their native streams.

Raising Salmon: In the fall of the year a portion of the salmon run enters the hatchery trap. These fish are sorted by age and sex, and they are held in adult pens until they are ripe for spawning. Our employees examine the fish twice a week. When ripe fish are found, the eggs are removed from the females and sperm is collected from the males. Once fertilized, the eggs are incubated in the hatch house for about 50 days before they hatch into alevins, or sac-fry. These small fish live on the yolk sac attached to their bellies for about 50 more days before they are ready to swallow and digest food on their own. In the spring these buttoned up fry are transferred to the rearing ponds. The fish are fed a nutritious diet throughout the summer, and the young fish gain weight and length rapidly. As autumn nears, the healthy fingerlings undergo a change to the smolt physiology. Their parr marks fade and their skin and scales become silvery and shiny. When the rainy season begins, the pond screens are removed and the vigorous smolts are released to the river to begin their amazing journey.

Kids Fish:  Each spring, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife sponsors a free fishing day for the children. The hatchery staff and volunteers teach children about fishing, encouraging them to become anglers. A rearing pond is stocked with trout, some of which have been fed all summer by visitors and have become enormous. The children are allowed to fish until they have caught their limit of 3. Some are lucky and leave with those enormous specimens. Free Fishing for Kids will be June 7th & 8th, 2008.

Photo left: Young boy learns to fish.

Elk River Fish Hatchery is not the only activity along this Wild and Scenic River. There are a few picnic areas, spots for swimming, rafting, kayaking and just enjoying the beauty of it all! Enjoy the Elk River Year Round!

Volunteer Host Program:  Interested in working with fish? The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Volunteer Program may be for you! The Elk River Hatchery offers an RV site with full hook-up near the river. In return for this outstanding place to spend a month...you are required to volunteer just 20 hours per week helping with fish culture and grounds maintenance. This program is a win-win situation! Please call for volunteer information: 541 332 7025