Endangered Salmon Species in California Had Trouble Breeding, Laying Eggs During Winter Rainstorms

The endangered salmon species in California have been finding it difficult to keep breeding and laying eggs due to the winter rainstorms.

After difficulties caused by the recent flurry of winter rainstorms hindered their research and may have stopped some of the fish from successfully spawning and depositing eggs, Bay Area researchers are still unsure about the state of the region's endangered and threatened salmon species.

According to Eric Ettlinger, an ecologist for the Marin Municipal Water District, the historic storms have not only prevented surveyors from counting coho and Chinook salmon for several weeks, but they also appear to have damaged some of their redds in Marin County, which is home to the largest community of coho salmon in Mendocino County's Monterey Bay to the Noyo River.

According to the Marin Independent Journal, Ettlinger also stated that regrettably, some redds were probably destroyed and there is a chance that others were also damaged, washing the eggs away.

99 Hopeful Coho Egg Nests

On the other side, he pointed out, the rains have given the creeks and streams where the fish spawn and hatch enough of water, assisting some of them to thrive and reproduce, though it is yet uncertain exactly how many were able to do so.

Lagunitas Creek, a 24-mile stream in which the fish spawn every winter, has 99 coho egg nests as of the most recent count, according to Ettlinger and his crew. Although it is greater than in prior years, that figure is still viewed as being below normal.

A "serious decline" has been observed in Coho salmon since the middle of the 20th century, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, due to risks like habitat degradation, exploitation or overfishing, contact with hatchery fish, and climatic variables such a lack of precipitation.

Although thousands of coho salmon used to migrate to the Bay Area during spawning season in December and January, only a few hundred currently do so annually due to dams that have been inhibiting the migratory fish from traveling upstream.

By the time they look for, count, and identify juvenile salmon this summer, surveyors hope to have more answers about population trends. More than a thousand coho smolts have been found in Olema Creek, according to Ettlinger, and if they do survive, they might produce a sizable number of returning adults.

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Closed Salmon Fishing Season

According to the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN), federal officials declared last month that the commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons in California and Oregon would be closed in 2023 due to the declining populations of Chinook salmon, the primary species caught in California.

According to the group, the number of Chinook salmon has decreased from over a million at 30 years ago to 170,000 today.

Later, it was revealed that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife would contribute around $36 million to restoration efforts.

In Marin County, the majority of counts of salmon egg nests are now considered as being below average or low. Since the district began tracking Chinook salmon spawners in 2001, Ettlinger and his staff had discovered 153 adult Chinook salmon in Lagunitas Creek from November 2022 until the start of the storms, but all of their eggs were likely washed away by the rain.

According to experts, the closure of the fishing season will serve to encourage the resurgence of the species, and federal and state disaster assistance will temporarily support local fishermen, SFGate reports.