[env-trinity] Recent gill lesions in Trinity River salmon

[Seth Naman - NOAA Federal]

Trinity River enthusiasts,

As many of you are aware, recent information from the public and data from
adult monitoring have indicated a higher than normal level of "gill rot" in
salmon in the Trinity River. State, Federal, and Tribal biologists and
managers take these reports of diseased or deceased fish seriously.  This
email is to provide you with a brief summary of information to keep you
informed over the weekend, in advance of a more detailed fish pathologist
report and press release that will be available next week.

On the morning of July 21, 2023, staff from the California Department of
Fish and WIldlife (CDFW) including a fish pathologist examined all adult
salmon captured at the Junction City weir. Later that afternoon,
representatives from CDFW, Reclamation, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Hoopa Tribe, Yurok Tribe, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service met to discuss
the fish pathologist's initial observations, share other pertinent
information, and develop recommendations to managers, should any thought to
be warranted.

All salmon trapped at the weir were examined by CDFW's fish
pathologist, including gills on both sides and other parts of each fish.
Overall, all salmon visually appeared to be healthy, which is a good sign.
Of the gill lesions observed by the pathologist, few appeared to be
actively infected. Most of the lesions appeared to be resolving, possibly
from a previous stressor earlier in the year on their upstream migration to
the upper Trinity River. Samples were taken from the gills of fish with
lesions, and the fish pathologist will determine in the laboratory the type
of pathogen(s) that were present on the gill lesions. Other positive
indications were that Yurok Tribal biologists saw a recent decline from
previous weeks in the incidence of gill lesions on juvenile salmon and
adult suckers captured with rotary screw traps in the lower Trinity River.

Given the overall observations of the CDFW staff as well as information
from other entities at the meeting yesterday afternoon, the group did not
believe a request for river or reservoir management actions from
Reclamation was warranted. More data and information will be re-evaluated
again by agency and Tribal staff this coming Monday. The report from the
fish pathologist and a press release with more details and analysis will be
available for you to review next week. Hope you have a good weekend,

Seth

-- 
Seth Naman
Fisheries Biologist
National Marine Fisheries Service
707-825-5180
1655 Heindon Rd
Arcata, CA 95521
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