Scott River’s Coho Salmon Run over 2,700 Spawners

An amazing number of coho salmon spawners returned to the Scott River during the 2013-14 season. Despite a drought-induced low flow of only 50 cfs during most of the fall and winter, a total of 2,731 coho adults came through the CDFW fish counting facility at river mile 18. Fresh adults were seen even into late February, weeks after the weir was removed on Feb. 7th, and more may also have spawned below the weir. The Scott’s large run appears to represent about half of California’s total natural-run coho adults found this year, as measured in surveyed streams.

This year’s run is from the strongest brood year of the three coho brood years found in the Scott River stream system. Three years ago, this same brood year produced 911 adults while in 2007, the run was 1,622. Even the two weaker brood years are showing a positive trend in population figures, as shown in the graph below. (Note that 2012 count was incomplete due to weir washing out early.)