Sweat, mosquitos, sunburns and fatigue. I’m already over summer. If you are like me and are craving the cooler temperatures — sweaters, pumpkins, crisp mornings with a good book and trees bursting with color too — you are not alone. California’s Fall-Run Chinook salmon are longing for autumn days as well.
These vibrantly colored fish are starting to ditch the summer ocean currents and make the long trek back through the San Francisco Bay, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and then into the hundreds of miles of emerald rivers in the Central Valley. Their voyage will land them eventually in the dark and cool forest streams of the Sierra Nevada and interior Coastal Ranges. This epic journey takes a long time to complete, with Fall-run salmon starting to show up in rivers in September and October.
Read on to enjoy some spooky salmon facts and catch an early escape into the calm vibes of the autumn season.
Zombie Fish
California’s Fall-run salmon are some of the spookiest creatures around. Female salmon travel hundreds of miles without eating. In fact, by the time they get to historic spawning grounds in the clear waters of California’s rivers, they are literally falling apart - sometimes whole parts of the salmon’s internals are exposed, even bones – giving them the appearance of the living dead.
The extra-creepy part? After successfully spawning in a “redd” -- the nest of perfectly smooth circle stones the salmon create to lay their eggs, which look like an underwater witch circle -- the female salmon die and litter the riverbeds with their decaying carcasses. We now know forest and river ecosystems depend on the dead salmon for essential nutrients that help other native plants and animals thrive during the other parts of the year. It sounds almost supernatural.
The ‘Swimming’ Dead
Unfortunately, summer’s hot temperatures can be a real barrier to these tough Zombie fish. Salmon struggle spawning or even surviving in temperatures higher than 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit. California has historically allocated most of the water in its rivers to corporate agriculture, leaving rivers low and hot during late summer. This is a critical time of year because it is when Fall-run salmon start their ocean-to-river migration.
To make matters worse, 90% of historical spawning habitat is above California’s major dams and conditions in the Bay-Delta estuary have severely declined over the last few decades due to antiquated legal protections and over-pumping of freshwater to southern portions of the state. This has left the estuary’s water super salty and, sometimes, even toxic. As a result of that habitat loss and ecosystem degradation, Fall-run salmon have severely declined in recent years, over 90% on some tributaries like the Sacramento River.
Not a Ghost Story yet
Not all is lost though for these iconic queens! As the historic Klamath dam removals showed, when conditions improve, salmon will come back. There is a long way to go, however, to restore the eerie fish population for California communities and rivers.
Salmon are an important part of California’s heritage and a cultural resource for Native American Tribes. Fall-run salmon, specifically, make up the 1.4-billion-dollar salmon commercial fishing industry, which has unfortunately closed for a third consecutive year. Salmon are also an important indicator species. Protecting salmon means also protecting a clean and safe water supply for Californians.
Uniquely, salmon have brought nutrients up from the ocean for thousands of years, which has led to supporting some viticulture. On the Mokelumne river, for example, 18% to 25% of the nitrogen in wine grapes is of “marine origin”. As animals eat those salmon, they then spread the nitrogen from the fish throughout the watershed. So, on salmon-bearing California rivers, salmon helped make the wine you may be drinking.
Finally, California salmon are a primary food source for endangered and awesome Southern Resident orcas. While possibly bad for yachts, orcas are important predators in the ocean’s food chain. The decline of both species is a red flag that more must be done to help them survive and thrive.
Help Save Salmon
The easiest way to help salmon, and other freshwater species, is to reduce your water usage! There is enough water in California for all, it just depends on how its used. You can also talk to your elected officials about how you support reducing the large corporate agricultural water use in California and why you support an equitable transition for Central Valley economies facing climate-whiplash. Encourage your communities and water districts to invest in local, sustainable water solutions like water reuse and improved groundwater recharge.
Finally, make sure to go outside and recreate in the places where Fall-run Chinook salmon spawn. Major rivers like the Feather and Yuba have salmon spawning in cool, shaded waters during the late summer through fall.
So, whenever you are suffering during the last dregs of the dog days of summer and eagerly awaiting when you can be your gloriously spooky self, think about what you can do to help get California’s waters ready for fall. It’s not just for you, it’s also to keep the zombies – I mean, salmon – alive.
**Cue the Monster Mash**
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