Millions released into river
Multiple outlets reported that millions of salmon were released into low‑flow stretches of the Sacramento River this week, with some observers calling the conditions 'deadly' for the fish. (x.com) Environmental commentator Dan Bacher publicly criticized Governor Newsom’s promotion of salmon releases amid what he described as collapsing populations. (x.com) (x.com)
More than 6.2 million juvenile Chinook salmon were released from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery into Battle Creek on March 25, sending them into a Sacramento River system that fishing groups said was running too low and too warm for safe migration. (elkgrovedailynews.com) Those fish are Sacramento River fall-run Chinook, a stock tied to California’s commercial and recreational salmon fisheries. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said on April 7 that the release timing could also benefit from a planned spring “pulse flow” from Keswick Dam. (usbr.gov) A pulse flow is a short burst of extra dam water meant to speed young salmon downstream in colder, faster water. Reclamation said the April release was designed to target about 11,000 cubic feet per second at Wilkins Slough and would begin around April 8, with Keswick Dam releases near 10,000 cubic feet per second. (usbr.gov) Fishing advocates had been pressing for that water. In a March 24 statement, Golden State Salmon Association board member John McManus said Keswick releases that morning were 3,920 cubic feet per second and Wilkins Slough was 8,070 cubic feet per second, below the roughly 11,000 cubic feet per second he said was needed for “decent” juvenile survival. (elkgrovedailynews.com) The fight comes as California is trying to rebuild salmon runs after years of drought and fishery shutdowns. Governor Gavin Newsom said on April 13 that commercial ocean salmon fishing is returning in 2026 after three straight years of closure, and he credited the state’s 2024 Salmon Strategy and restoration work with improving key stocks. (gov.ca.gov) State officials have also been changing how hatchery fish are released. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in May 2025 that it had, for the first time, released about 3.5 million juvenile fall-run Chinook directly into the main stem of the Sacramento River near Redding and Butte City to give them a better shot at reaching the ocean. (wildlife.ca.gov) That earlier state release was framed as an emergency response to weak returns on the main stem Sacramento. California Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries chief Jay Rowan said naturally spawning Sacramento River salmon had driven the state’s fisheries for decades, but poor spawning and migration conditions during the last two droughts had cut adult returns for three years. (wildlife.ca.gov) The broader fishing picture is improving, but it remains tightly managed. California’s 2026 ocean salmon sport season reopened with area-by-area harvest caps, including an April 11 to August 31 season from Pigeon Point to the U.S.-Mexico border and later openings farther north. (wildlife.ca.gov) So the immediate dispute is not whether salmon were released, but whether enough water followed them. Reclamation says the April pulse flow was built to improve juvenile survival; critics say the river was pushed too close to the edge before that help arrived. (usbr.gov)
