Fall Chinook salmon return to Link River after more than a century

The fall Chinook salmon have moved out of the incubation stacks and into the outdoor raceways. This year, we have fish in over 30 raceways, with some raceways holding 150,000 fish and others up to 950,000 fish! 🐟 Fun fact: Today alone, these growing salmon will eat more than 650 pounds of food! Fish releases are coming soon to make room for the next wave of growth. And this year, things look a little different—we’ll be releasing fish from fed‑fry (tiny fish that have been fed at the hatchery bu

CDFW hatcheries play a vital role in supporting salmon populations in the Klamath Basin and throughout California. Last fall, CDFW witnessed the historic return of salmon to an undammed Klamath River. CDFW is pleased to report that 317 fall-run Chinook salmon and 45 coho salmon reached CDFW’s Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in its first season of operation. The Fall Creek Fish Hatchery is located about 7.5 miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location. From those returning fish, CDFW collected an