Salmon populations are in decline and facing the threat of extinction throughout California. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a strategy to protect the species, which have been at risk due to hotter and drier weather.
In 2022, fewer than 80,000 Central Valley Chinook salmon returned to spawn, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. That’s a decline of nearly forty percent from the previous year, and the lowest since 2009. Last year, all salmon fishing was canceled in California and much of Oregon due to low numbers.
Salmon face so many threats — dams that block migration, diversions that drain rivers, ocean conditions and climate change.
The state’s plan includes tearing down dams, restoring habitat, modernizing fish hatcheries, and updating data collection about salmon migration. The plan also calls for establishing minimum water flows for the Scott and Shasta Rivers in Northern California, which have been hotly contested. And, finally adopting the long-delayed water management plan for the Bay-Delta, the heart of the state's water supply, by next year.
But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said some parts of the plan do not ensure protection for the fish in dry conditions or go far enough to adequately restore their ecosystems.
For more information on this issue visit calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-salmon-newsom-plan.
