Did you see the fish in Fryer Creek? Sonoma Creek? At the falls at Sugarloaf?
Everyone is so excited about seeing salmon returning to our streams. Smart phones have been lighting up and Facebook buzzing in Sonoma Valley with photos of bold shimmering fish jumping and twisting like we haven’t seen in years. Some good news for a change.
I don’t recall experiencing such widespread joy at the sight of spawning salmon. Friends texted me photos and news. At Maxwell Park, a fellow dog walker asked me if I had seen the big fish carcasses on shore. Even my beloved hairdresser was thrilled to share a fishy news post when I went in for my usual cut and color!
The 15 to 20 inches of rain delivered by the big November storm got the attention of the fish that were just waiting for the signal to swim upstream and spawn as they have for centuries. The fish we are seeing are mostly Chinook Salmon, aka King (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). They are most likely the offspring of fish that spawned three years ago. True salmon lay their eggs in freshwater, then return as tiny smolts to the sea where they feed and grow. Most West Coast salmon species go through a three-year life cycle. After spawning, the fish perish, leaving skin and bones for birds and wildlife and enriching the landscape with nutrients.
It is also possible that these amazing returnees might be hatchery fish that were raised and then released elsewhere in the region. Those fish don’t necessarily have the instincts to return to a hatchery stream and may stray into other watersheds like Sonoma Valley. To tell the difference, look for the notch in the dorsal fin that indicates a hatchery fish. Such fish can help rebuild depleted salmon populations but also threaten to weaken the genetic diversity of wild fish.
Chinook can be easy to spot and look almost oversized in our creeks, as they can grow up to three feet long and weigh up to 30 pounds. Alaskan Kings can routinely surpass 50 pounds and the world record is 126 pounds. Occasionally, we might spot a smaller Coho, or “silver” salmon, in local creeks, or perhaps a steelhead trout, which is an ocean-going rainbow that can spawn and return to the sea repeatedly during its life cycle.
As the Sonoma Ecology Center explained in a recent blog post, “Historically, Sonoma Creek supported significant runs of steelhead trout, Chinook salmon, and Coho salmon. Today, we see smaller runs of steelhead and more infrequent runs of Chinook. Over the years, salmonid populations have declined significantly in our watershed.”
Some locals still recall fishing in the creeks with their parents or grandparents when fish were still plentiful – not that long ago. In a recent angler column by Bill Lynch, he told how “old-timers recalled using pitchforks to take salmon out of the tiny winter creeks that rose up in heavy rains and meandered through their pastures. Their numbers in those days made it seem like they would always return. But even back when I was a boy, I never saw the enormous salmon runs that were common in our streams at the beginning of the 20th Century.”
Urban development, siphoning of water for vineyards and rural homes, along with climate change, have contributed to the decline of fish and health of our waterways. In recent years, the expenditure of millions of public and private dollars to restore our streams and creeks to more natural condition, has given the fish a chance to come back.
Yet, with our county supervisors, state representatives and the governor’s office almost all-in for the massive urbanization of Sonoma Valley at the Sonoma Developmental Center (and probably Hanna Center, too) along Sonoma Creek, these incredible threatened fish face an uncertain future. Their riparian habitat seems destined to eventually be lined with new roads, hundreds of mostly high end homes, thousands of cars and private enterprises that will deliver pollutants, bring pets and other disturbance, and ruin decades of good environmental work.
In West Marin, salmon advocates and scientists sued to force the county to implement a streamside conservation ordinance to protect the vulnerable Coho populations in Lagunitas Creek. Combined with massive restoration of the waterway, from the old golf course in Woodacre through Samuel P. Taylor State Park, more Coho are consistently returning. It’s been a great salmon restoration success story. We need a similar ordinance for Sonoma Creek that goes beyond current county riparian protections. Read more about the Marin ordinance by going to seaturtles.org/marin-independent-journal-streamside-ordinance.
Now that we’ve had more rain, why not take a break from holiday feasting and shopping, put on the raincoat, wool hat and a pair of boots, and look for fish in Sonoma Valley. And don’t forget to post!
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