In a complete surprise, a salmon shark washed up on the shores of Salmon River, Idaho. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) received calls and emails reporting the find. Clearwater Region fisheries manager Joe Dupont took up the investigation, but was puzzled how the shark got there.
The Salmon River, synonymously known as “The River of No Return,” runs in central and eastern Idaho. The freshwater river is known as home to several species of trout and salmon. Salmon sharks are notably not native to river. Its worth mentioning one of the only species of shark capable of surviving in freshwater is the Bull Shark.
Salmon sharks can grow up to 10 feet long and weight up to 1000 pounds. Their diet mostly consists of salmon, hence the name. They are mostly found in ocean and coastal waters. This breed is most commonly seen near the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, near Korea and Japan. They are also seen from the Gulf of Alaska to central Baja California.
At this point, we have more questions than answers. This is a marine animal known to frequent ocean and costal waters, yet somehow ended up in a freshwater river? A river known as “The River of No Return?” The only answer I’ll accept is that somehow the entire country collectively missed an actual “Sharknado.”
There is still no known reason as to how the shark ended up in Idaho. Dupont speculates that it was possibly placed by a human. He says there is no need for the community to worry at this time. There are no sharks swimming in Idaho waters.
