on the Mokelumne River was “ the most successful return in more than 80 years .” “ This year ’ s historic return highlights EBMUD ’ s longstanding collaboration in the region and our deep commitment to sustaining this vital fish hatchery and protecting the river ’ s habitat ,” said EBMUD Board President Andy Katz . “ We are proud to celebrate this achievement with our local , state and federal partners , as well as the broader community , which has entrusted us with safeguarding this precious natural resource .” “ Amazingly , the Mokelumne River contributes only about 3 percent of the freshwater flow into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta , yet its salmon population makes up as much as 50 percent of the commercial catch off the coast of California in years when the season is open , according to data from the Pacific Fishery Management Council ( PFMC ). On October 29 , 2023 , EBMUD biologists tallied the largest one-day salmon count in 30 years of 1,941 fish . “ The science-driven hatchery management program by EBMUD and CDFW includes operations that support ocean fisheries and natural spawning on the river ,” according to EBMUD in a statement . “ When the season is complete and full data is available , experts will determine which strategies contributed most to the success on the Mokelumne , given some rivers are experiencing low returns , as has the Mokelumne in previous years .” Long-term strategies cited by the water agency include : “ Habitat enhancement to improve natural river spawning and rearing , in partnership with both the U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service ’ s Anadromous Fish Restoration Program and the CDFW . Flow management , including pulse flows from EBMUD ’ s Camanche Reservoir into the river to attract returning fish ; coordination with the U . S . Bureau of Reclamation to close the Delta Cross Channel to reduce straying ; and management of the |
Camanche cold water pool to support spawning , incubation , and rearing . Hatchery management , including investments in chillers and ultraviolet filters to improve egg survival ; collaboration on the release of juvenile fish ; and management of the fish ladder leading into the hatchery . Statewide closure of California ’ s 2023 commercial and recreational salmon fishing season to protect the Central Valley fall-run Chinook population ; the commercial and recreational salmon fishing fleet , which funds the production of ocean enhancement fish at the hatchery , forewent the season and contributed to this year ’ s success .” “ The Mokelumne faces many challenges ,” said Workman . “ It is a small river that can be overwhelmed by flows from larger Central Valley rivers when attracting salmon back from the ocean . But through collaborations with our agency partners , we have found winning strategies . This year ’ s large run allows us to meet our hatchery goals as well as improve natural production numbers in the river by maximizing the use of the available spawning habitat we worked so hard to build . Decades of work to improve the natural habitat are paying off .” Workman said the hatchery reached its 10 million egg-take goal to produce approximately 9 million smolts , including the required 3.4 million mitigation fish , 3 million enhancement fish , and 2.5 million drought recovery fish . The mitigation fish are funded by EBMUD , the enhancement fish are funded through the ocean commercial and CPFV ( Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel ) salmon stamp and the drought recovery fish are funded by the CDFW . The majority of the enhancement fish will be trucked to release sites spanning Fort Baker , Richmond , Marin Rod & Gun Club , Tiburon , Half Moon Bay , Santa Cruz , and Monterey in 2024 . The mitigation fish will be released at Sherman island . Last year a total of 6.4 million |
Biologists survey the Mokelumne River during the salmon spawning season .
Photo by EBMUD
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salmon smolts were produced at the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery . “ We are proud of the collaboration between EBMUD and CDFW and we attribute much of our success to our partnership ,” concluded Workman . “ This large run translates into meeting the hatchery goals and also being able to fill all of the restored habitat that we spent millions of dollars creating over the past 30 years .” The Mokelumne River serves as the primary drinking water source for 1.4 million customers served by EBMUD in Alameda and Contra Costa counties . To mitigate for habitat losses that resulted from construction of Camanche Dan , EBMUD manages river flows , enhances habitat , and funds the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery , operated in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ). The total numbers of hatchery and naturally spawned fish returning to the Mokelumne , American , Feather and Sacramento River and their tributaries won ’ t be known until the numbers of fish returning to the hatcheries and carcass counts on the rivers are compiled by the CDFW and NOAA Fisheries this February in preparation for the Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings that craft the fishing seasons and restrictions . Recreational and commercial salmon fishing was closed in the ocean waters of California and most of Oregon and recreational salmon |
fishing was closed in all California rivers in 2023 . The counts of steelhead and fall-run Chinook salmon were not available from other Central Valley fish hatcheries . However , we do know that spawning of fall-run Chinook salmon at CDFW ’ s Central Valley salmon hatcheries has wrapped up for the season , according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ). “ 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 ,” the agency said . “ 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 .” Fishery advocates estimate the number of adult fall run Chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento Valley will likely not be enough to allow a salmon fishing season in 2024 . The Mokelumne River salmon are not included in the Sacramento River Index that is used by the Pacific Fishery Management Council ( PFMC ) in its March and April meetings to develop the ocean abundance estimates for ocean recreational and commercial seasons . “ Returns of adult fall-run spawning fish to the upper Sacramento Valley are dismal so far in 2023 and are far below the target of 180,000 fish set for the 2022 fishing season ,” wrote Ashley Garrett of the Golden State Salmon Association on the organization ’ s website . “ Because of low anticipated returns , no target was set for 2023 .” https :// goldenstatesalmon . org / early-estimates-for-sacramento-valleyfall-run-salmon-returns-signal-bleakfishing-outlook-in-2024-despite-record-returns-to-mokelumne-river / |