CDFW Releases Video Discussing King Salmon Hatchery Efforts On Central Valley Rivers
After the 2023 king salmon seasons were wiped out due to low returns for fish throughout the state, there has been some good news with counts increasing thus far, including a record number of fish returning to the Mokelumne River Hatchery. What that means for the immediate future for Chinook and fishing opportunities is to be determined. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a YouTube video recently discussing its hatchery program for the Sacramento River watershed (see below).
Here’s CDFW’s YouTube description of the plan:
Jason Julienne, who oversees CDFW’s Central Valley anadromous fish hatcheries, explains how the spawning of fall-run Chinook salmon at CDFW’s Central Valley salmon hatcheries has wrapped up for the season. The total numbers of salmon returning to the Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers are still being tallied, but the Feather River, Nimbus and Mokelumne River hatcheries received sufficient returns to support their egg collection needs. In addition to the eggs needed to support this year’s production goal of 25 million fish, CDFW collected excess eggs to share with the Coleman National Fish Hatchery above Redding where fall-run Chinook salmon returns to the upper reaches of the Sacramento River have been poor.