Mattole Salmon Group

Chinook Survival Enhancement

The dry season of the Mattole often claims the lives of thousands of young Chinook salmon that fail to reach the ocean before the river mouth closes.  These fish become stranded in the lagoon as the water temperature increases and algae sucks oxygen from the water.  Through years of underwater dive surveys the MSG has observed that no Chinook salmon can survive an entire summer trapped in the lagoon, and have devised an alternative.

The Giles Mead Fish Rearing Facility is located in the lower Mattole River.  When the program is operating, Chinook salmon are diverted from the river into large tanks continuously circulating with cold, clean water.  The salmon are monitored, fed, and protected from predators.  Once the river conditions become safe for fish in the late fall, the salmon are released to continue their downstream journey.

Mattole Salmon Group staff and volunteers gather around the Giles Mead rearing facility at the Salmon Group headquarters.