Endangered Coho Return to Russian River

Endangered Coho Return to Russian River

by Dan Bacher

Fishery biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) are reporting the largest number of coho returning to spawn in Sonoma County tributaries of the Russian River in over a decade.

This season, biologists estimate that more than 190 adult coho may have returned to the Russian River system, beginning with early storms in October and peaking in December, according to a DFG news release. Promisingly, a few coho are being sighted in creeks that are not stocked, utilizing habitat beyond those tributaries in which coho are released.

The number of fish returning to the river are nowhere near the thousands that once ascended the river and its tributaries prior to the construction of Dry Creek and Coyote dams, although it is much improved over the scarce counts of the past decade. The abundance of coho salmon and steelhead that once thrived in the Russian, sustaining a legendary recreational fishery, is well documented in the film, "Rivers of a Lost Coast.

"Scientists working on the recovery of endangered coho salmon in northern California appreciate success even if it comes in small doses," commented Manfred Kittel, Coho Salmon Recovery Coordinator for DFG’s Bay Delta Region.

Kittel said most of these fish were released as fingerlings into the river system, as part of a captive broodstock program at Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery on Lake Sonoma. The broodstock program began 10 years ago, when wild coho salmon were rapidly vanishing from the region.

Prior to the launch of the recovery program in 2001, the number of returning adult coho salmon averaged less than four per year. These low numbers were the catalyst for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program, a recovery effort in which offspring from hatchery-reared adults are released into the river system.

“We are hopeful that coho salmon released through this program will continue to return to the Russian River system in increasing numbers and begin to establish self-sustaining populations,” says Manfred Kittel, Coho Salmon Recovery Coordinator for DFG’s Bay Delta Region. “The program is a cornerstone of coho salmon recovery efforts in central California, but the number of fish observed this year must be seen in perspective. A healthy coho population should number in the tens of thousands in California.”

Coho salmon abundance has declined dramatically statewide in the past few years. Biologists believe that additional captive breeding efforts and other focused recovery measures will likely have to be instituted to prevent widespread extinction of coho salmon in central California.

Coho salmon in central California are listed as an endangered species under both the State and Federal Endangered Species Acts. "It is against the law to catch them anywhere in the state," noted Kittel.

The Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program is a broad coalition of government agencies, scientists and private landowners dedicated to bringing back productive salmon runs. Its members include DFG, which manages the hatchery component at the Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery, University of California Sea Grant Extension, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and Sonoma County Water Agency

Fish restoration proponents charge that the state and federal governments, while prohibiting anglers from the take of any coho, have been very reluctant to address the real factors behind the dramatic decline of coho salmon. These include the lack of fish passage over major storage dams, clear cutting of forests by timber companies, land development, particularly for vineyards, and the increasing diversions of river water to sustain a growing viticulture industry.

In addition to improved coho numbers, returns of steelhead to the Warm Springs Fish Hatchery and the Coyote Valley egg taking facility also rose this season. Warm Springs has trapped 1636 adult steelhead to date, compared with 1075 adults last year. Coyote Valley trapped 1533 adult steelhead, compared with 654 fish in 2010.

For more information, contact: Manfred Kittel, DFG Bay Delta Region, (707) 944-5522, Kirsten Macintyre, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8988.