The salmon are swimming upstream and that’s the sign of a homecoming the staff and volunteers at Issaquah’s Salmon Hatchery were waiting for. Issaquah is home to the most visited hatchery in the state with 250,000 visitors a year. The busy season is about to begin as the most popular attraction is returning home in what is expected to be significant volumes. The hatchery fish are born on the property and raised in Issaquah Creek water until they are around five inches in length then they are released into the ocean. They are out in the Pacific for over three years before following their nose back to Issaquah Creek. As the salmon leave the saltwater they are counted passing through the Ballard locks. By mid-August the count was at more than 5,000 chinook and that’s foreshadowing an above-average count for the past decade. READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/salmon-return-home-issaquah-hatchery-spawning-season/281-e1be55db-ce1c-4af0-946f-68ef753962ee