Thursday November 5, 2009
Saturday (November 7) is the first ever Stanislaus River Salmon Festival.
The event is intended to celebrate the local salmon fishery, as well as
educate and inspire the local community to help protect this precious
resource. The Stanislaus River has the healthiest run of fall-run Chinook
salmon in the San Joaquin Basin, with about 1,000 adults expected to return
this year. However, the population has declined from a recent high of 8,000
fish in 2000. Although many factors have contributed to declining salmon
populations, low numbers of returning adults during the last few years are
largely attributable to poor survival in the ocean.
This video, which will be shown at the festival, presents information about
the fisheries research and monitoring program being used to help manage the
Stanislaus River salmon population.