A Fall Chinook Salmon and Rainbow Trout Hatchery
Our hatchery is located on Hwy 101 between Gardiner and the Smith River Bridge, north of Reedsport
Since 1992, the Gardiner, Reedsport, Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) has annually released nearly 200,000 Fall Chinook Salmon (Smolt) in Winchester Bay near the confluence of Winchester Creek.
In three to five years these smolt return to Winchester Bay’s East Boat Basin as adult Chinook salmon. Because they acclimated in the bay these salmon have no predetermined spawning area to return to. They loiter in the lower bay creating a Terminal Fishery.
Anglers catch these fish in the ocean offshore of Winchester Bay, in the bay itself, in the east boat basin and the lower Umpqua river.
Each fall STEP volunteers begin the arduous task of trapping returning adult salmon, collecting and hatching eggs, raising the resulting Fry to Smolt. The Smolt are adipose fin clipped and released to begin the cycle again.
This is all accomplished with the hard work of STEP volunteers, generous support from local businesses, community members and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Vandal poisons thousands of young salmon at Oregon hatchery April 25, 2024 REEDSPORT, Ore. — Nearly 18,000 young salmon died after a vandal poured bleach into a Douglas County fish[…]
Read moreArrest Made in Hatchery Break-in
Deputies Arrest Gardiner Man in STEP Hatchery Break-In GARDINER, Ore. – A Gardiner man has been arrested in a burglary of the Gardiner, Reedsport, and Winchester Bay (GRWB) Salmon Trout Enhancement[…]
Read moreHatchery Vandalized 20,000 Fall Chinook Salmon Pre-Smolt Killed!
Sometime during the Sunday night of April 21st or early morning hours of Monday morning vandals broke into the GRWB STEP hatchery facility. They destroyed or damaged several door locks[…]
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