Lake Washington sockeye hit record low, another signature Seattle fish at brink of extinction By Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times Published: January 1, 2021, 9:31am Share: They are as Seattle as the Space Needle. But Lake Washington sockeye, once the largest run of sockeye in the Lower 48, are failing. The smallest run on record returned to the Cedar River in 2020, a bottoming out after years of declines. There hasn’t been a fishery on Lake Washington sockeye since 2006 — and now extinction looms. What’s worse is scientists are not even sure how to fix it, as a vortex of climate change, urbanization and predators endangers a beloved species.