Sixty-five thousand salmon in Santa Cruz Harbor?
That’s right, and that is only the first load of salmon smolt that will be held in the net pens at the Santa Cruz Harbor. The second load will raise the numbers up to 130,000 salmon that will transition
from the harbor to the ocean out of Santa Cruz. The program is run by Monterey Bay Salmon Trout Project and can only help with our salmon stocks.
“We will be releasing 130,000 smolt from the Santa Cruz Harbor this spring, and the survival rate has been excellent,” reported Larry Wolf, a program director and treasurer for the project.
In past years, the 3-inch smolt had issues with disease or difficulties in transitioning to the ocean, but this year, the baby salmon have been very healthy, and their success rate has risen.
“In the river, 40 percent survival rate for outbound hatchery salmon would be good. Here we are looking at a 90 percent survival rate,” Wolf added.
An outgoing tide at their release helps the small salmon flush into the ocean safely. This process helps the fish transition from fresh to salt water and may keep the fish in a closer proximity to the coast during their life cycle.
The juvenile salmon were carried in from the Feather River Hatchery, and 100 percent of the fish have coded wire tags and a clipped adipose fin. That helps studies to determine the Genetic Stock Identification of the fish. The GSI program has been useful for many species of salmon and is being used more now for the return of California’s salmon.
The season started with a bang in the Monterey Bay, with salmon catches looking good. But at this time, the salmon season has become more worrisome; counts are down in Monterey Bay, as well as many ports to the Oregon border. The weather has been difficult for boats to venture out, and there are many factors that could contribute to low catches.
Studies have found that the ocean is healthy and full of life. Commercial boats that have been contracted to do GSI studies have found acres and acres of krill, and the inshore sign of sardines look very robust. However, at this time, the GSI studies on the commercial fishing boats have not been finding positive numbers of salmon in the ocean from central to northern California.
Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at [email protected]. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays April through September.
