Community Salmon Release Event!

Foss Waterway Seaport presents 2022 Salmon Send-Off

A Free Public Event Celebrating the Salmon in the Schools Program in Tacoma


The Foss Waterway Seaport will present a public Salmon Send-Off at Swan Creek Park on March 26, 2022 featuring a dedication and blessing by David Sway-la Duenas representing the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, a creek clean-up, the Tacoma Trashoctopus, and the opportunity to release a live juvenile coho salmon into the Puyallup River watershed. 


The Foss Waterway Seaport is proud to bring the Salmon Send-Off to Swan Creek Park for the first time in-person. This event celebrates the inaugural year of the Salmon in the Schools program currently running in 12 Tacoma elementary schools. The Tacoma Salmon in the Schools program is a concentrated effort among the district and its community partnerships to raise 1,800 coho salmon in elementary schools across the district for release into the wild. The Salmon Send-Off will begin with litter pick-up at 10am and will feature a presentation by David Sway-la Duenas from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians at 11am. Shortly following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for individuals or families to release a coho salmon raised at Foss Waterway Seaport into Swan Creek. Elementary school students will participate in field trips at the end of March to release the salmon raised in their classrooms.


The Salmon Send-Off is a free event that is open to the public of all ages.Tickets will not be required for entry. The event will be concentrated around the Pioneer-Way entrance to Swan Creek Park. Limited parking will be available. Portable restrooms will be onsite. In addition to the event schedule listed above, Pierce County Conservation district will present an educational activity about water insects and what they indicate about the health of our streams. There will also be an opportunity to contribute to an art installation scheduled for display at the Foss Waterway Seaport during Oceanfest.