Russian River Coho Salmon Monitoring

Coho salmon monitoring in the Russian River basin

SGEP Advisor Paul Olin and staff operate an ongoing monitoring program for coho salmon in the Russian River basin to document in-stream survival of juvenile coho, outmigration of smolts, and returns of adult fish. Efforts are primarily focused on monitoring for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program and activities are concentrated on historic coho streams in the southern portion of the watershed in western Sonoma County. 

Rearing and stocking of Broodstock Program fish is conducted by program partners at the Warms Springs Hatchery. Sea Grant biologists conduct seasonal monitoring activities, following the coho salmon life stages:

• Juvenile coho monitoring

• Coho smolt monitoring

• Adult coho monitoring

Innovative PIT tag technology allows biologists to collect data on fish numbers, movement, and distribution at all life stages. This technology has been an invaluable tool for monitoring coho in the Russian River basin. 

The Broodstock Program monitoring effort is funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers and made possible through the gracious support of hundreds of private landowners throughout the Russian River watershed. 

Evaluating instream flow needs of juvenile coho

Dr. Olin and his staff are also conducting a study to correlate flow with survival in order to determine the amount of instream flow and habitat juvenile coho need to survive the summer months. See our Oversummer Flow and Survival Study page for more information. 

Featured articles

• Press Democrat, January 2012: Lack of rain impacts Russian River coho
• Press Democrat, December 2011: Endangered Russian River coho salmon making comeback
• Press Democrat, December 2011: New bridge is good news for coho and steelhead
• Press Democrat, October 2011: Coho release highlights 10-year Willow Creek restoration
• Press Democrat, September 2011: State water board adopts Russian River frost plan
• CA Fish and Game News, March 2011: Endangered Coho Salmon Return to Russian River 
• California Sea Grant, March 2011:  Endangered Coho Salmon Return to Russian River

The Captive Broodstock Program was featured in a video on coho restoration in Northern California in KQED's QUEST on KQED Public Media.