The number of coho salmon returning to Oregon’s coastal rivers has improved dramatically in recent years, to the point that the salmonoid may qualify for removal from the federal Endangered Species Act list in coming years.

An average of 217,400 coho have returned to the Oregon Coast's rivers the last four years (2021 to 2024), according to estimates by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife .

That’s a dramatic increase from the 1990s, when numbers dropped as low as 26,000 fish in 1997 and 35,000 in 1998. That downturn led to coho being listed as threatened under the federal ESA.

Historically, their numbers were as high as 700,000 to 800,000 fish in the 1950s and early '60s.

“We’re on a path to delisting, but we do need to be prepared for future challenges,” said Tom Stahl, deput

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