Russian River Coho

October 21, 2021

Question: What’s the status of the coho salmon population in the Russian River?

Answer: Before the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program(opens in new tab) (RRCSCBP) began at Warm Springs Hatchery in 2001, coho salmon were close to extirpated from the Russian River basin. Only a few juveniles remained, and these juveniles were used to start the broodstock program.

Over the past 10-15 years, adult coho returning to the Russian River have fluctuated from approximately 100 to more than 700 a few years ago, with an average of around 300-500. The recent drought has resulted in fewer than 300 adult coho returning in winter 2020/21. The majority of these adult returners are fish that were released as juveniles in Russian River tributaries through the RRCSCBP. The program released between 100,000 and 230,000 coho annually, with an average of approximately 180,000.

The number of adult coho in the Russian River is indeed very low and very likely the result of a relative lack of suitable habitat, and especially a lack of adequate water, especially during the dry summer months. The latter problem obviously is exacerbated by the current drought conditions. Recovery of the endangered Central Coast coho salmon will require continued habitat restoration, combined with other management actions such as population enhancement through genetically guided conservation hatchery intervention.