"Over 10,500 Chinook salmon swam from the Pacific Ocean into the Sacramento-San-Joaquin Delta to reach their spawning grounds in the Mokelumne River last fall. The salmon's return helped the East Bay Municipal Utility District's fish hatchery in the Sierra Nevada foothills reach its yearly goal of collecting and fertilizing 7.5 million salmon eggs, the agency announced last week. Their numbers "represent a healthy count for natural spawning in the river," EBMUD wrote."
"According to EBMUD, this year's count is on par with the river's annual average of 11,100 salmon - though it is significantly lower than 2024's record-setting count of over 35,450. The count in 2023 held the previous record at 28,698. The river experienced record numbers of returning salmon in 2023 and 2024 partly due to the closure of commercial and recreational salmon fishing along the California coast during those years, according to Michelle Workman, EBMUD's manager of natural resources."
More than 10,500 Chinook salmon returned from the Pacific into the Sacramento-San-Joaquin Delta and ascended the Mokelumne River last fall. The return allowed the East Bay Municipal Utility District hatchery to reach its annual target of collecting and fertilizing 7.5 million salmon eggs. The count matches the river's typical annual average of about 11,100 but is far below 2024's record of over 35,450 and 2023's 28,698. Record returns in 2023–2024 were partly linked to coastal fishing closures. Reduced rainfall, lower reservoir releases, and stray migration to other rivers likely contributed to the lower 2025 return.
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