CDFW News

Power Outage Causes Failure at Eastern Sierra Hatchery

Tue, 27 May 2025 11:25:28 GMT

BIG PINE – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that a sustained power outage has led to the widespread loss of fish at the Fish Springs Trout Hatchery.

The power outage, which was outside CDFW’s control, occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Owens Valley, and lasted more than two hours. Fish Springs Trout Hatchery, powered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has backup diesel motors which can supply continued water pumping during power outage events. During the power outage on Tuesday, the backup diesel motors were non-operational due to a software issue. A contractor had been previously scheduled to come to the hatchery on Thursday, May 22 to diagnose the software issue, assess the motors, and help CDFW resolve the problem.

“We’re devastated by the loss of these fish, which were the product of years of hard work and round-the-clock care by our expert hatchery staff.” said Russell Black, Inland Deserts Environmental Program Manager at CDFW. “As the backup diesel motors are being assessed and repaired, we are also working to secure eggs and fish from other CDFW hatcheries to rebuild some of these lost stocks. CDFW is dedicated to ensuring continued and successful fish planting in Inyo and Mono counties for the benefit of the Eastern Sierra.”

Power outages are not uncommon at CDFW hatcheries. All hatcheries are equipped with backup generator equipment to ensure continued operations. Significant multi-day power outages due to wildfires at Fillmore Fish Hatchery, Crystal Lake Hatchery, Feather River Hatchery, and Warm Springs Fish Hatchery occurred last year during which backup generator systems performed as needed to maintain fish health and operations.

Backup power failures at CDFW hatcheries are rare. During hatchery power outages, water levels drop, flows stop, dissolved oxygen levels decrease, and temperatures rise quickly, leading to untenable conditions for both eggs and fish.

The Fish Springs Trout Hatchery, founded in 1952, raises rainbow trout, brown trout, and Lahontan cutthroat trout for recreational opportunities in Mono and Inyo County waters. CDFW staff are still assessing the totality of loss but estimate that between 75-80% of the fish stock was lost, including eggs and fingerlings for next year, and catchable fish for this year.

CDFW staff at Fish Springs are working to prioritize fish plants based on the remaining inventories, as well as re-allocating fish from other hatcheries for Mono and Inyo County planting. CDFW is also exploring purchasing eggs from private vendors. This loss will likely impact fish plants in the eastern Sierra’s for the next two seasons, though staff are strategizing to ensure that impact is as minimal as possible.

CDFW operates 21 hatcheries across the state to help support threatened and endangered fish species, provide recreational fishing opportunities, participate in important research on fish biology, and support local economies.

For more information on CDFW’s hatcheries, head to CDFW Fish Hatcheries page..

####

Media Contact:
Katie Talbot, CDFW Communications, (916) 204-1381

CDFW to End Hatchery Operations at Mad River Fish Hatchery in Humboldt County

Fri, 02 May 2025 10:40:52 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has made the difficult decision to cease hatchery operations at the Mad River Fish Hatchery in Humboldt County.

A combination of increased regulatory burden and a lack of flexibility, aging infrastructure, significant and necessary costly repairs and maintenance, modernization needs, and low fish production and returns forced the decision to close the steelhead trout hatchery just east of Arcata.

“Quite simply, the steelhead program is no longer viable,” said Jason Roberts, Inland Fisheries Program Manager for CDFW’s Northern Region. “The Mad River Fish Hatchery is no longer providing much if any conservation benefit to the species nor the intended recreation or sport fishing benefits in the Mad River. The careful review of these resources indicated they could be better used elsewhere. Our focus now is implementing a transition plan for employees, equipment and resources, repurposing the buildings and making sure the property remains open and accessible for the public to access the Mad River.”

The Mad River Fish Hatchery has been beset by challenges for two decades. In 2004, a state budget crisis forced its closure. The hatchery was able to reopen in 2005 due to community support, but its operations have diminished over time as regulatory demands, operational expenses and infrastructure maintenance needs have increased.

Opened in 1971, the hatchery once raised Chinook salmon, inland salmon and rainbow trout for recreational fishing and steelhead trout to support the native run within the Mad River itself. Over time, all but the steelhead and trout programs have been phased out of hatchery operations.

Today, the Mad River Fish Hatchery is CDFW’s smallest hatchery with three full-time employees, a $730,000 annual budget and a maximum annual steelhead production goal capped by federal fish agencies at 150,000 fish. CDFW’s Trinity River Hatchery by comparison, which also operates a steelhead program to support species conservation and a destination sport fishery, raises and releases about 450,000 steelhead and 4.6 million salmon annually.

CDFW estimates it would need another $1 million annually to continue Mad River Fish Hatchery operations at current levels and likely tens of millions of additional dollars to make needed repairs, modernize the facility for the future and meet federal requirements.

The northern California steelhead found in the Mad River is a federally listed threatened species. As such, the federal government has considerable regulatory authority and oversight of Mad River Fish Hatchery operations, including operational standards that cap production limits in multiple ways and require biological monitoring of impacts to wild populations.

Remaining steelhead in the hatchery will be released into the Mad River in the spring with hatchery operations expected to cease in June.

CDFW plans to maintain a presence at the hatchery facility, repurposing the buildings into offices and continuing to use the workshop. The property will continue to be open from sunrise to sunset to allow public access to the river. The public’s current use of the premises to park and access fishing, hiking, birding and swimming along the Mad River will remain.

The closure of Mad River Fish Hatchery operations will not impact the local stocking of rainbow trout in inland waters for recreational fishing in Humboldt County.

Apart from Mad River, CDFW operates 20 other hatcheries across the state producing millions of fish for conservation and recreation every year. For more information about California’s hatcheries, head to CDFW Fish Hatcheries web page.

###

Media Contacts:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858
Jason Roberts, CDFW Northern Region (530) 526-2168

CDFW Partners with DWR and Fishing Industry to Diversify Salmon Hatchery Release Strategies

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 16:34:40 GMT

In a collaborative effort to increase the sustainability of California's salmon populations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has partnered with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), as well as ocean and inland fishing groups to continue a pilot project aimed at diversifying salmon hatchery release strategies.

As part of a broader initiative to expand salmon hatchery release strategies, CDFW recently released more than a million fall-run Chinook salmon fry into the Feather River. These salmon fry are released shortly after hatching, which mimic the same life stage in the wild when they would swim up out of the gravel. Typically, fall-run Chinook salmon released from the hatchery are about six months old and 3.5- to 4-inches in length. This technique was first introduced at the American River at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in 2023.

This marks the second fry release in the Feather River this year, bringing the total number of fry released to approximately 1.8 million. These releases are in addition to the Feather River Hatchery’s typical target of 6 million smolts (a young salmon that is ready to migrate from freshwater to the ocean, usually around 6 months old) as well as the additional 3.5 million smolts and sub-smolts CDFW aims to produce at the Feather River Hatchery in 2025.

"This pilot project underscores the importance of collaboration between state agencies and the fishing community as we adapt to the challenges posed by climate change," said Jay Rowan, Fisheries Branch Chief. "By diversifying hatchery release strategies, we aim to boost salmon populations while ensuring more fish are available for both harvest and conservation efforts."

Due to the small size of salmon at the fry stage, traditional tagging methods such as coded wire tags cannot be used to track these fish. Instead, the performance of these releases will be monitored using Parental Based Tagging (PBT). This innovative approach involves collecting genetic data from the parent salmon at the time of spawning at the hatchery. The genetic information will then be used to identify and track the offspring when they return to the river, helping to assess the success of the fry releases.

“Our organization has long been an advocate of adopting genetic PBT for fisheries management,” said James Stone, Executive Director of the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association. “Adaptive salmon management is the future of improving and sustaining our fishery, which is needed now more than ever. PBT provides flexibility in hatchery operation and release strategies to maximize juvenile salmon production, including the promotion of natural spawning. We are pleased to partner with the department on the implementation of this new technology and commend them for taking this next step.”

The fry release project is being conducted in coordination with DWR, which owns the Feather River Hatchery, and with input from both commercial and recreational salmon fishing groups.

“On behalf of the California salmon fleet, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association (PCFFA) is committed to restoring our fleet’s ability to harvest California salmon and feed California communities. Diversified release strategies offer the best opportunity for a cohort’s success by mimicking natural systems, allowing fish to learn to be fish sooner. This approach provides hope that bold and decisive actions can strengthen population health, enhance genetic diversity, and contribute to the long-term resilience of salmon stocks," said George Bradshaw PCFFA President. “We appreciate CDFW’s collaboration with the industry to address the salmon crisis by increasing hatchery production and implementing diversified early life stage release strategies. Reintroducing fry releases not only expands production capacity but also takes advantage of early in-river conditions that benefit fish health.”

Diversifying hatchery release strategies is a key element of the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier, Future, a statewide initiative aimed at ensuring the resilience of salmon populations amid impacts of climate change. In addition to the Feather River releases, similar pilot studies are also underway at the Nimbus Hatchery on the American River, further expanding the scope of the project.

The pilot studies are expected to provide valuable data that will shape future hatchery release strategies, ultimately helping to bolster salmon populations and improve their chances for survival in the wild.

For more information on this project and other salmon conservation efforts, visit the CDFW website at www.wildlife.ca.gov.

###

Media Contacts:
Jay Rowan, CDFW Fisheries Branch Chief
Steve Gonzalez, CDFW Communications, (916) 804-1714

CDFW Using Winter Storms to Help Increase Survival of Hatchery Released Chinook Salmon

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 12:32:22 GMT

Anticipating good conditions for the survival of hatchery-produced Chinook salmon throughout the Sacramento River and tributaries, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will release both spring and fall-run Chinook during the historic rain and snowfall the state is experiencing. Several releases have already happened, and others are planned over the next few weeks to utilize good in-river habitat conditions for these young salmon.

On Feb. 23, with a series of late-winter storms building, CDFW staff released approximately 1.1 million fall-run Chinook salmon fry into the American River at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Sacramento County. These Chinook salmon are part of a pilot study testing new genetic based tagging techniques that if successful, will allow more flexibility in fish release strategies to take advantage of natural high flow events in the future.

It was the first release of fall-run Chinook into the American River in more than three years. Since the spring of 2020, drought conditions have forced trucking of Nimbus Fish Hatchery juvenile salmon to points within the San Francisco and San Pablo bays. These 1.1 million fish are in addition to the normal 4 million smolts released annually from Nimbus Hatchery for mitigation and are also in addition to the 500,000 in increased production scheduled for 2023 to help offset losses to in-river production caused by drought.

In the coming week, CDFW will release 250,000 fall-run Chinook salmon from the Feather River Hatchery. These fish are part of the 3.1 million fish that were raised above and beyond the hatchery mitigation requirement. They will be taken to the Sutter Bypass for release where they can directly enter rearing habitat resulting from rainfall the region experienced in early March. The expectation is these fish will be able to utilize this habitat to grow to smolt size before entering the Delta and heading toward the ocean. An additional 900,000 of these 3.1 million fish will be released in the Feather River in early April as pre-smolts when favorable conditions are expected to continue based on current snowpack and reservoir conditions. The remaining 2.9 million additional fish as well as the six million mitigation fall-run Chinook, will be trucked to the San Pablo and San Francisco Bays as smolts for release.

This week will also be the start of the annual spring-run Chinook salmon releases in the Feather River from the hatchery. Over the course of the next few weeks approximately two million spring-run Chinook salmon will be released at several release locations along the Feather River. The favorable conditions in the Feather River and bypasses should provide good rearing habitat allowing these fish to grow and increase survival rates.

“By putting these fish out into the river now, they are going to experience the natural environment of our rivers as natural-origin fish would and will be able to take advantage of the high flows we’re getting with these storms,” said Jay Rowan, who oversees CDFW’s Fisheries Branch.

CDFW expects survival rates for these Chinook salmon to be very high given the increased flows and expects to see the benefits of these early releases three years from now when the adults return to complete their lifecycle.

###

Media contact:
Jordan Traverso, CDFW Communications, (916) 212-7352