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Low chinook salmon count as Whitehorse fish ladder closes for season

163 fish counted so far in 2022
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The wooden Whitehorse Fish Ladder (front right) helps the Yukon River’s chinook salmon bypass Yukon Energy’s hydro dam in Whitehorse to reach their spawning grounds further upstream on Aug. 6. (Dana Hatherly/Yukon News)

The chinook salmon counts will keep coming even though the Whitehorse fish ladder closed to the public for the season on Aug. 31.

As of 12 p.m. on Sept. 1, 163 chinook salmon had made their way through the wooden ladder, according to a Yukon Energy spokesperson.

In an email, Lisa Wiklund said a total of 274 fish were counted in 2021.

Those numbers compare to the lowest count on record of 121 fish in 1976.

The fish ladder helps the Yukon River’s chinook salmon bypass Yukon Energy’s hydro dam in Whitehorse to reach their spawning grounds further upstream.

Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com



Dana Hatherly

About the Author: Dana Hatherly

I’m the legislative reporter for the Yukon News.
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