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Salmon Salvage Problems in Relation to Shasta Dam, California, and Notes on the Biology of the Sacramento River Salmon
Author(s) -
Needham Paul R.,
Smith Osgood R.,
Hanson Harry A.
Publication year - 1941
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1940)70[55:sspirt]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - tributary , chinook wind , spring (device) , fishery , oncorhynchus , fish migration , fish <actinopterygii> , trout , streams , dam removal , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , geography , biology , geology , sediment , mechanical engineering , computer network , paleontology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , engineering , computer science
Studies of the chinook salmon runs which will be blocked by Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River, California, indicate that a total annual run of about 27,000 fish will be blocked sometime in 1942. There are two relatively distinct spawning runs, one in the spring and one in the fall. The number of eggs per female is calculated to be nearly 7,000. There are also two distinct downstream migrations, one in the spring and one in the fall. Most of the young salmon go to sea during their first spring. It is not considered practicable to install fish ladders over Shasta Dam because of the height of the structure and because young downstream migrants could not pass it safely. Therefore, consideration is being given to salvage plans similar to those used for the salmon runs blocked by Grand Coulee Dam in the upper Columbia River. All tributaries of the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam have been examined as to their suitability for transfer of the run now passing Redding. Of 17 drainages examined, 9 are dry in their lower reaches during part of the year and 7 have dry stretches during periods of salmon migration. Only 2 streams, Battle and Deer Creeks, were found below Shasta Dam which have salvage possibilities. Not a single effective fish screen was found in the 19 drainages investigated and most fish ladders seen were inoperable because of lack of water. Copper pollution in the Sacramento River above Redding from abandoned mines may become lethal to trout and salmon unless corrective measures are undertaken. In the salvage plan recommended by the Board of Consultants it is proposed that three rack barriers be constructed across the Sacramento River between Redding and the mouth of Battle Creek. After river temperatures had dropped below 60° F. in the fall, salmon would be stopped on the expectation that they would spawn naturally between the racks. Because of high water temperatures in the main Sacramento, the spring run and the early part of the fall run would be transferred by trucks to Battle and to Deer Creeks. A hatchery having a capacity of about sixty million eggs is proposed for construction on Battle Creek in connection with this plan. A fish collecting system, including traps and lifts will have to be provided at one of the barriers. Tank trucks will be required for transfer of the fish to Battle and Deer Creeks.