Special Status Update: Coho salmon

The GGNRA Inventory and Monitoring Program is more than half way through its monitoring season for Coho salmon. Unfortunately, it appears Coho salmon smolt (young salmon) are not doing well. At Redwood Creek smolt numbers were 25% lower than expected. At Pine Gulch, a stream in western Marin County, there was a total wipeout: no smolts were counted at all.

This is particularly disconcerting because a relatively large number of redds (salmon nests) were observed last season: it appears some in-stream threat is killing Coho before they reach the smolt stage.

The future of the Coho salmon is filled with challenges, but there is hope to save this dwindling population. Join the GGNRA Endangered Species Big Year and you can help save Coho salmon while observing the animals in the wild. Sign-up for your Big Year today!

A pair of Coho salmon