<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div class="ydp645c8c64yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"> <div><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/2/2227140/-Breaking-Fall-Run-Chinook-Salmon-Fry-Succumb-to-Gas-Bubble-Disease-in-Klamath-River" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/2/2227140/-Breaking-Fall-Run-Chinook-Salmon-Fry-Succumb-to-Gas-Bubble-Disease-in-Klamath-River&source=gmail&ust=1709591609940000&usg=AOvVaw32WEH25PPwcFmNmW_KeXrG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="enhancr_card_0386173221">Breaking: 830,000 Fall-Run Chinook Salmon Fry Die from Gas Bubble Disease in Klamath River</a><font size="4"><br></font><p><font size="4">830,000 Fall-Run Chinook Salmon Fry Die from Gas Bubble Disease in Klamath River</font><br></p><p>by Dan Bacher</p><p>The
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Saturday
morning that hundreds of thousands of fall-run Chinook salmon fry,
released for the first time from its Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in
Siskiyou County, are “presumed to have succumbed to gas bubble disease
in the Klamath River” as the dam removal process moves forward.</p><p>The
Department said they released approximately 830,000 fall-run Chinook
salmon fry on Monday, February 25, into Fall Creek, a tributary of the
Klamath River above Iron Gate Dam.</p><p>“The fish were hatched at
CDFW’s new, $35 million, state-of-the-art Fall Creek Fish Hatchery,
which represents California’s long-term commitment to supporting and
restoring both Chinook and coho salmon runs on an undammed Klamath
River,” the Department said in a statement.</p><p>“The salmon fry
experienced a large mortality based on monitoring data downstream,” the
agency continued. “Indications are the cause of mortality is gas bubble
disease that likely occurred as the fry migrated through the Iron Gate
Dam tunnel, old infrastructure that is targeted for removal along with
the Iron Gate Dam itself later this year. Gas bubble disease results
from environmental or physical trauma often associated with severe
pressure change.”</p><p>“There is no indication the mortality is
associated with other Klamath River water quality conditions such as
turbidity and dissolved oxygen, which were reading at suitable levels on
Feb. 26 and the days prior to release,” the agency argued. “The visual
appearance of the dead fry detected by monitoring equipment points to
gas bubble disease. Monitoring equipment documented other healthy
yearling coho and Chinook salmon that came from downstream of the dam.”</p><p>The
Department said the problems associated with the Iron Gate Dam tunnel
“are temporary and yet another sad reminder of how the Klamath River
dams have harmed salmon runs for generations.”</p><p>After this big fish
kill, CDFW said it will plan all future salmon releases below Iron Gate
Dam until this infrastructure is removed.</p><p>“Poor habitat
conditions caused by the dams and other circumstances such as this are
reasons why CDFW conducts releases of hatchery fish at various life
stages,” the Department stated.</p><p>CDFW’s Fall Creek Fish Hatchery
continues to hold approximately 3.27 million healthy, fall-run Chinook
salmon, according to the CDFW. Additional releases are planned later in
the month.</p><p>“The annual fall-run Chinook salmon production goal for
the hatchery is to raise and release 3.25 million fish – 1.25 million
released as fry, 1.75 million as smolts, and 250,000 as yearlings. The
additional stock of fall-run Chinook salmon remaining in the hatchery
exceeds the annual production goal and will help offset losses
experienced with the initial release of fry,” the CDFW concluded.</p><p>This
fish kill comes at a critical time for salmon and other fish
populations in California. Due to the collapse of fall-run Chinook
salmon on the Klamath/Trinity and Sacramento River systems in 2022, all
commercial and recreational salmon fishing on the ocean was closed in
California and most of Oregon. All recreational fishing was closed on
all California rivers last year — and salmon fishing by the Yurok Tribe
on the Klamath River and the Hoopa Valley Tribe on the Trinity was
restricted to a quota of just 2,000 fish.</p><p>The salmon seasons are
also likely to be closed or severely restricted this year also, based on
relatively low abundance forecasts for Sacramento and Klamath River
fall-run Chinook salmon that were released by state and federal fishery
scientists at the CDFW’s annual salmon information meeting via webinar
yesterday.</p><p>The forecasted adult Sacramento Valley fall-run Chinook
salmon population number is only 213,622, based on a jack escapement of
only 11,933, according to Dr. Michael O’Farrell of NOAA Fisheries. This
is the second lowest abundance forecast since the salmon fishing
closure of 2008 to 2009. Considering that the goal for spawning
escapement is 180,000 this year, this would only leave 33,622 fish for a
fishing season. </p><p style="text-align:justify">The Klamath River
fall Chinook abundance forecast is 138,741 for age 3 fish, 39,531 for
age 4 fish and 2,409 for age 5 fish. The fishery is now in “overfished”
status” and the 2023 regulations applied to the 2024 abundance forecast
would result in a natural area spawner prediction of 42,932, according
to O’Farrell.</p><p style="text-align:justify">“It’s predecisional to
say what the fishing opportunities will be this year,” said Kandice
Morgenstern, CDFW environmental scientist, at Friday’s meeting. “A
fisheries closure is a possibility, but it’s too early to preclude some
fishing this season. It’s too early to say yes or no on a season.”</p><p>California
representatives will work together to develop a range of recommended
ocean fishing season alternatives at the March 6-11 Pacific Fishery
Management Council (PFMC) meeting in Fresno, Calif. Final season
recommendations will be adopted at the PFMC’s April 6-11 meeting in
Seattle, Wash.</p><p>For more information related to the salmon
preseason process, including contact information, timeline and other
opportunities for public engagement, please visit the<span> </span><a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason" title="" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason&source=gmail&ust=1709591609940000&usg=AOvVaw0YCGfIxPMWvSPOP55do4zz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="enhancr_card_9616617337">CDFW’s Ocean Salmon Calendar of Events</a><span> </span>page.</p><div><br></div><div id="ydpc3b1456fenhancr_card_9616617337" class="ydpc3b1456fyahoo-link-enhancr-card ydpc3b1456fyahoo-link-enhancr-not-allow-cover ydpc3b1456fymail-preserve-class ydpc3b1456fymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:YahooSans VF, YahooSans, OpenSans VF, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason" style="text-decoration-line: none !important; text-decoration-style: solid !important; text-decoration-color: currentcolor !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;" class="ydpc3b1456fyahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table border="0" class="ydpc3b1456fcard-wrapper ydpc3b1456fyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="ydpc3b1456fcard ydpc3b1456fyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" class="ydpc3b1456fcard-info ydpc3b1456fyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto; position: relative; z-index: 2; width: 100%; max-width: 400px; border-radius: 0px 0px 2px 2px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233);"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:YahooSans VF, YahooSans, OpenSans VF, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydpc3b1456fcard-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: YahooSans VF, YahooSans, OpenSans VF, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 34, 40); max-width: 314px;">Salmon Preseason Process: Calendar of Events and Contact Information</h2><p class="ydpc3b1456fcard-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 158, 168);">The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the ha...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br></div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div><br></div></div></body></html>