Salmon make another comeback in California

reprinted from Gold Country Media https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/349098/chinook-salmon-make-another-comeback/

1/9/26

A funny thing about Chinook salmon: Give them half a chance and they can come roaring back.

Yes, they’re a fragile species, highly susceptible to poor water management and/or crummy habitat and environmental conditions (which is especially true in Northern California, the southern end of their range). But despite that glaring irony, salmon are also one of the most resilient species on the planet, and they demonstrated that this fall.

In 2022, after several years of pretty brutal drought conditions, declining numbers of fall-run Chinook salmon returning to California rivers were so bad that fishing for them – recreationally and commercially – was banned in the state almost entirely for the past three years, though there were limited seasons this year both off the coast and in certain stretches of certain rivers.

So why the big rally in 2025? Most simply: water. According to National Weather Service statistics, the fall and winter of 2022-23 saw rainfall totals as high as 47 inches in some parts of the state, and snow totals as high as 58 feet. Remember? The salmon returning to our rivers this year were born that season.

Jason Thatcher, who runs River Pursuit guide service on the upper Sacramento River, said he saw more spawning Chinook salmon in the river this fall between Redding and Red Bluff “than the last three years combined.”

Granted, that’s anecdotal. But official reports confirm Thatcher’s observations. Up and down the Sacramento River watershed, returning Chinook salmon made it look like westbound 80 at the end of a three-day weekend. Coleman fish hatchery on Battle Creek reports more than 40,000 Chinook salmon made it back. Feather River fall-run salmon counts were more than 43,000. The Mokelumne River hatchery had more than 35,000 return by mid-December.

Final numbers are not in yet, but Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the lower American River in Orangevale had healthy returns. They’ve even been found in small tributaries that don’t always get returning salmon, like Putah Creek in Yolo County and Miner’s Ravine in Placer.

On the coast, Chinook and Coho salmon, which are an even more fragile salmon species, were found in streams, creeks and rivers that haven’t seen them in years or even decades. (Fun fact: While it is true most salmon return to the rivers of their birth, not all do. Up to 27 percent can stray into other waters.)

One of the most encouraging returns has been to the Klamath watershed, where thousands of Chinook have been spawning in river stretches previously unreachable for decades until two recent dam removals.

But good rainfall totals aren’t the only reason – especially here. For starters, there is no question the aforementioned multi-season closures to commercial and sport anglers had an effect, as painful as they’ve been economically and recreationally. But also, efforts to improve population rates in general may be paying off: like helping young hatchery salmon avoid in-river habitat and predatory challenges by trucking them to San Francisco Bay. (Hey, why walk through a bad part of town when you can Uber?)

There’s also been better, more informed management of downstream flows at critical times of the year, although with all our state’s water demands, that is still a work in progress. And there’s extensive and ongoing habitat restoration that allows for more natural spawning because, another fun fact: Studies show that wild salmon – those that are hatched naturally in river and stream beds and their subsequent descendants – have higher overall survival rates than hatchery fish.

But there’s one more factor I personally would like to see more work on: overall awareness. Salmon in California are not just an interesting annual oddity, they are crucial to the entire West Coast. The Klamath and Sacramento watersheds are the second- and third-largest producers of Chinook salmon in the lower 48, behind only the Columbia River. Many of our fish, when they reach the ocean, hang a right and swim all the way to the Gulf of Alaska to feed and grow. When you buy a “wild Alaskan caught” salmon at the store, there’s a decent chance that fish had Cali roots.

They’re also a bellwether species – if their numbers are healthy, it’s likely their home waters are healthy, too. Plus, they’re just a remarkable species. On average, a wild female Chinook will lay between 4,500 and 6,000 eggs. Of those, maybe two or three will manage to dodge everything from birds to orcas and fishing nets, survive into adulthood and return.

Hatchery-raised salmon have even lower odds. Think about that! Basically, every salmon that makes it back is a Powerball winner. We shouldn’t just be aware of this remarkable species, we should be lining riverbanks every fall waving big foam “#1” fingers, cheering like maniacs as they, despite all odds, rally. Again and again.