SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. — More than half a million young Chinook salmon are part of a new imprinting project aimed at getting the fish back to the Sacramento River as parts of the Northstate salmon fishery remain closed for a third year.
The Bridge Group is working to speed up the return of salmon by placing 500,000 young Chinook salmon into protective net pens instead of trucking them away. The effort is a multiyear experiment designed to increase survival and ultimately boost the number of salmon that return to the Sacramento River.
“One is to grow faster, and then two put them in the system so they migrate out sooner, so they won’t get perdated on, eaten by fish, while the higher likely success of survival,” said Thaddeus Bettner, executive director for the Sacramento River Contractors.
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FILE PHOTO — Baby salmon, also known as “fry.” (Courtesy: Getty Images)
Bettner said exposing the salmon to the river’s water chemistry helps them remember it over the long term, improving the chances they will return.
Half of the fish will be released into the Sacramento River, while the other half will be trucked into San Francisco Bay. Bettner said the fish are being raised at Coleman Fish Hatchery.
“The fish are already being raised at Coleman Fish Hatchery, so again, working with the managers there. They’ve already got the fish in their system,” Bettner said.
All of the fish are genetically tested and tagged so scientists can track when they return in about three years.
Fishing guide Matt Mitchell said the project could have wide-reaching impacts.
“Salmon are a key stone species, without salmon there would be a lot less other fish and you know all the trout and pike menow,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said fishing has played a big role in his family’s life, and he hopes the project helps bring back salmon fishing in the Northstate.
“I can’t wait until they open it back up because it’s time well spent with my family and friends and my clientele,” Mitchell said.
The salmon are scheduled to be released into the Sacramento River in March.
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