Steelhead spa: pampering can promote future spawning
Watching salmon during spawning season makes one thing abundantly clear: the reproductive journey from the ocean back to freshwater and subsequent spawning take a heavy toll on Read More…
hatcheries
Bumpy Ride: Challenges of Trapping and Hauling Salmon
While flying fish have evolved a novel way of getting around, salmon have also been on the move in some surprising ways. They can now hitch a Read More…
Reproduction Self-Destruction: Trojan Males as Invasive Species Control
Releasing specially bred hatchery fish could help native species by prompting invasive fish to breed themselves out of existence in the wild. An innovative project currently underway Read More…
Hatchery Delta Smelt: Hope for the Species?
The beleaguered delta smelt continues to decline in California, leading some experts to believe it will soon be extinct in the wild. Meanwhile, scientists have successfully cultured Read More…
Flashback Friday: Hatchery History
Our recent Fish Reports on the 2016 and 2017 salmon seasons highlight the major role fish hatcheries play in California's salmon fishery. On today's Flashback Friday, we Read More…
Fish in a Barrel: The Benefits of Terminal Fisheries
California’s hatcheries have released approximately 2 billion Central Valley fall-run Chinook salmon into the state’s waterways since the construction of the first modern fish hatchery in 1942. Read More…
All in the Family: Inbreeding at California Steelhead Hatcheries
Steelhead, the migratory form Oncorhynchus mykiss, once abounded in California’s Central Valley. But its populations have crashed from estimates of 1-2 million (McEwan 2001) to a mere Read More…
Led Astray: When Hatchery Salmon Return to Someone Else’s Home
Imagine trekking a thousand miles away from your birthplace as a child, then navigating back home for the first time as an adult using only your senses. Read More…
Two Billion Fish and Counting: California Hatchery Trends
California has a long and intricate history of using hatcheries to supplement its salmon fisheries, starting with the first federal fish hatchery constructed along the McCloud River Read More…
Road to salmon collapse is paved with good intentions
Spring is a time for young salmon to migrate to the ocean - and an increasing number of them are making the trip by truck. Passage in Read More…