2001–2002 - California Sea Grant - UC San Diego

fall chinook over a 23-year period as habitat changes occurred.
The Smith River in Del Norte County is the most pristine
undammed river in California. It is host to excellent salmon and
steelhead populations and serves as a benchmark for salmonid
habitat and effective management. This research project is providing
a long-term database to guide fishery managers on the Smith
River system. The chinook spawning population is monitored
weekly from November through February, and an annual age
composition is determined from scale analysis. Fluctuating chinook
populations are reflecting drought effects, ocean habitat and feeding
conditions (El Niños and upwelling), and some habitat changes.
The salmonid database from this long-term study was used in
1993 to deter a proposed state highway project that sought to
relocate Highway 101 into portions of the Mill Creek drainage.
Denial of this proposal was based on the high salmonid fishery
values of Mill Creek and saved California taxpayers over $30
million.
Between 2000 and 2002, there were more spawning chinook
than in any of the previous 23 years. Waldvogel attributes this to a
Marine Advisor Jim Waldvogel has been counting chinook salmon and their
shift in the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. This new phase,
carcasses in the Smith River in Del Norte County for more than two decades.
which could last some 30 Photo: California Sea Grant Extension Program
years, is associated with
cooler than normal ocean water
temperatures in California,
increased upwelling and enhanced
coastal productivity.
Though favorable to California salmon, the shift could reduce Alaska
salmon numbers.
In 2001, the 22-year fishery database allowed the landowner, Stimson
Lumber Company, to negotiate a $60-million sale for the 25,000 acres of
the Mill Creek watershed to Save-the-Redwoods League. Almost $20
million of the land value was attributed to the Sea Grant long-term salmonid
study that documented coho and chinook abundance estimates. The
Save-the-Redwoods League has since turned ownership of the land over to
the California State Parks, preserving this resource for future Californians.
Waldvogel’s salmon count, the longest on record in the area, will be an
important piece of fish resource information as the state develops a
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