For the second consecutive yr, record-breaking numbers of Chinook salmon have returned to the Mokelumne River 95 mile long waterway which runs through Northern California – to spawn, signaling hope for the species' recovery and the return of the salmon fishing season in 2025.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District said greater than 30,000 fish have been recorded since September, because of conservation efforts to limit business and recreational fishing, increase fry production and restore habitat along the river.
“These fish are returning to our river and supporting the Mokelumne,” said Michelle Workman, the East Bay MUD manager of fisheries and wildlife. “If we can apply good management techniques to our river, that will be a big win.”
Chinook salmon leave the Pacific Ocean each fall, returning to their breeding grounds in freshwater rivers, deltas and streams in one of the crucial arduous migrations within the animal kingdom. The Mokelumne River plays an outsized role on this process in California — while it accounts for less than about 3 percent of the freshwater flow into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as much as half of the business catch of Chinook salmon off the California coast comes from this tributary, in line with East Bay MUD.
Low Chinook salmon stocks in recent times have forced several public agencies to pursue two-pronged recovery efforts, Workman said. The first part is a Prohibition of business and recreational fishing conducted by the California Fish and Game Commission for the past two years, and the second is producing more fish on the Mokelumne Hatchery.
Those conservation efforts put a strain on certain sectors of California's economy, from business fishing operations to restaurants and fish markets, Workman said. However, the outcomes speak for themselves, he said.
East Bay MUD biologists recorded the passage of three,824 migratory fish on the Mokelumne River on October 16, 2024, the most important single-day salmon count in greater than 30 years. The total variety of salmon recorded within the river this season is the best since records began in 1940 and the second consecutive record yr.
Lesa McIntosh, East Bay MUD board chair, said the “historic salmon is a testament to our science-based management” in collaboration with local, state and federal partners to support hatcheries and protect their habitats.
But conservationists' goal is a “system-wide recovery” across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Workman said. Only when the Chinook salmon population throughout the river system recovers will authorities announce their mission is achieved.
“We can’t just manage the status quo year after year,” Workman said. “The way we stay on track is to keep learning every year.”
Intense weather events proceed to affect the recovery of salmon populations throughout Northern California. Atmospheric rivers may cause salmon to be lost and find yourself in places they shouldn't be, similar to Lake Merritt in Oakland. Summer heat threatens cool river temperatures that contain more oxygenated water. And low snowpack can limit the supply of spawning areas.
Still, fishing enthusiasts can view the historic Mokelumne salmon run as a step toward returning to their favorite pastime. It stays unclear whether the salmon fishing season will return in 2025, but Workman is optimistic.
“I am very hopeful. I think a lot of people are very hopeful,” Workman said. “For a species like Chinook, we really want the population to be resilient.”
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