South Puget Sound is home to ten species of native salmon, and is a documented feeding ground for stocks from other Puget Sound waters, which dip into the South Sound to feed. Salmon are a favorite food of orcas, are highly prized by anglers and commercial fisherman, and are an important cultural and economic resource for tribes.
There are over 500 miles of salmonid-bearing streams in the South Sound with documented presence of Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Chum, and Pink salmon as well as steelhead and bull trout. The McNeil Island and Budd Inlet areas have the least amount (1.1 miles and 5.3 miles) and Nisqually watershed has the most extensive presence (189 miles).
| Inlet/Island Group | Bull Trout | Chinook | Chum | Coho | Steelhead | Total (miles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budd Inlet | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 7.3 | ||
| Carr Inlet | 2.0 | 5.4 | 10.1 | 12.7 | 30.2 | |
| Case Inlet | 6.9 | 31.1 | 37.4 | 18.9 | 94.3 | |
| Chambers/Clover | 0.3 | 22.1 | 20.7 | 11.1 | 54.3 | |
| Deschutes | 9.0 | 2.8 | 7.2 | 2.9 | 21.8 | |
| Eld Inlet | 4.9 | 3.6 | 15.3 | 4.2 | 28.0 | |
| Hammersley Inlet & Oakland Bay | 10.6 | 21.4 | 44.7 | 39.0 | 115.7 | |
| Henderson Inlet | 3.4 | 5.4 | 13.1 | 17.8 | 39.6 | |
| McNeil Island group | 1.1 | 1.1 | ||||
| Nisqually | 38.1 | 36.5 | 3.5 | 58.4 | 56.2 | 192.7 |
| Totten & Little Skookum Inlets | 0.7 | 20.6 | 25.5 | 14.0 | 60.8 | |
| 38.1 | 76.0 | 118.9 | 237.0 | 176.7 | 646.8 |
No local target proposed. AHSS supports targets outlined in local Salmon Recovery Plans.