Natural History Wanderings

U.S. National Park Service News Release

Some years, the San Francisco Bay Area Network coho and steelhead monitoring team is alarmed by the low number of coho salmon returning to spawn in Marin County creeks. Last year, they didn’t spot a single live adult coho salmon. This has not been one of those years.

This season is on track to be the best spawning season on Olema Creek in more than 15 years.  With the coho spawning season just about over, the monitoring team has counted over 200 adult coho and over 50 coho redds (nests) in Point Reyes National Seashore’s Olema Creek. Fishery Biologist Mike Reichmuth recalled one memorable day in late December, “We had an epic day on Olema, with a single-day count of 150 adult coho salmon. This is the highest single-day count that we have [ever] recorded.” Overall, this season is on track to be the best spawning season on Olema Creek in more than 15 years!

Read more at  Coho Have a Surprisingly Strong 2023-2024 Spawning Season (U.S. National Park Service)