Last updated: March 2, 2021
Article
Wrapping Up Coho Spawner Season
NPS / Michael Reichmuth
February 26, 2021 - As March approaches, coho salmon spawning season has come to an end. No signs of coho salmon spawning activity have been seen in Olema Creek recently. Sadly, coho spawning never really kicked off in Redwood Creek, as we only observed one female coho on a redd in early January. The numbers of fish (both live spawners and carcasses) and potential coho redds have declined in recent weeks, indicating the coho spawning window has closed. Last week, 10 new redds that could have been created by either coho or steelhead were counted in Olema creek, however, no live coho were spotted. Staff only observed one steelhead carcass in Redwood Creek. The 2020-2021 coho spawner season will likely go down as one of the worst on record for Redwood Creek.
Upcoming mid-to-late March, the San Francisco Bay Area Network salmonid team will transition our focus on smolt trapping operations. We will install a smolt trap on both Olema and Redwood Creek which will run through the end of May. Salmonid smolts are in a transitional phase, getting ready to migrate out to sea. The traps are utilized to estimate the number of coho smolts migrating out of the streams and help us determine overwinter survival for each population. Meanwhile, steelhead spawning is expected to continue through April. Hopefully, spring freshets of fresh water flowing into the sea will allow steelhead access to critical spawning habitat.
For more information
- San Francisco Bay Area Network Salmonid Monitoring webpage
- Pacific Coast Science & Learning Center Coho & Steelhead webpage
- Contact Fisheries Biologist Michael Reichmuth
See more from the San Francisco Bay Area Coho and Steelhead Blog and Bay Area Nature & Science Blog