A record number of sockeye have returned to Skagit Bay and the Skagit river on their annual spawning migration, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

From June through October, approximately 91,880 of the salmon returned to the Skagit River system on their way to Baker River and Baker Lake. Considering the Baker River system had declined to less than 100 returning fish in 1985, the 91,880 this summer is seen as an historic return by Baker sockeye management groups.

A record number of juvenile fish — 1.5 million — passed through the Baker Lake and Lake Shannon Floating Surface Collectors during the May outbound migration.

The Baker sockeye run consists of salmon native to Baker Lake and the Baker River, a tributary to the Skagit River.

“Each year, sockeye returnin

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