Chinook Salmon
Chinook Salmon have seventeen distinctive runs in California. These runs vary in many ways, and are categorized into six evolutionarily significant units. Some units have been listed as threatened species.
Spring-run Chinook Salmon
SCARF operates as a broodstock program where source stock are collected from California streams where Spring-run Chinook Salmon are present and specifically selected to maximize genetic diversity. Before collected fish are incorporated into the SCARF population, they are quarantined and tested for potential disease-causing pathogens. Once deemed "clean" the salmon become SCARF broodstock, are raisesd to adulthood and then spawned to produce offspring. It's these offspring that are released to augment the reintroduced San Joaquin River population. SCARF at full capacity will be capable of producing one million smolts (juvenile salmon) for release to the river each year.