Wednesday November 29, 2023
Stockton Record —
A record high number of over 23,000 fall-run Chinook salmon have returned to the Mokelumne River, a tributary of the San Joaquin River, while the second lowest number of Sacramento River fall Chinook have come back to Coleman National Fish Hatchery on Battle Creek this year.
The fish are returning from the ocean during a year when all salmon fishing was closed in California’s rivers and ocean waters due to the projected low ocean abundance of Sacramento and Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon.
The previous record for the Mokelumne River Fish Hatchery was 19,962 salmon for the 2017 fall run ending in January 2018.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) reported the 2023-24 fall run of Chinook salmon on the Mokelumne River is now “the most successful return in more than 80 years.” A total of 23,681 fish had been reported as of Nov. 20, according to Michelle Workman, EBMUD Manager of Fisheries and Wildlife.