OROVILLE — Seeing salmon carcasses may be upsetting to some people, but for officials logging the end of the life cycle on the Feather River, there is good news: The salmon population is on the rise.
Since Sept. 7, environmental scientists, biologists and fishery technicians with the Department of Water Resources Feather River Fisheries Project have been out on the river five days a week counting salmon carcasses.
The team has counted more than 1,000 salmon carcasses a day since the work began, and will continue counting through mid-December.
Kyle Hartwigsen, a member of the team that was out on the river, said the annual count is mandated by the federal government. In order for the DWR to operate Oroville Dam and get relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency is required to monitor the salmon numbers and returns, he said.
“This year is looking really good,” Hartwigsen said. “Last year we counted 45,000. This year we’re busier than that.”
Most of the carcasses in the river are salmon that died after spawning and that did not make it into the Feather River Fish Hatchery.
The scientists are counting carcasses along a 16-mile stretch of the river from the Fish Hatchery to the East Gridley Bridge.
Hartwigsen said the number of salmon counted was way down in recent years. In 2008, the count was about 6,000 or fewer. In 2009, it was about 5,000, he said.
Once a fish is counted, it’s cut in half and thrown back into the water. “We don’t want to count the same fish twice,” Hartwigsen said.
He emphasized the count is just of fish in the river. The Department of Fish and Game is doing a separate count of salmon at the Fish Hatchery.
Different crews are also going out weekly between the Fish Hatchery and the Thermalito outlet, counting redds — nests salmon make to lay eggs. Those numbers are also up.
“We’re getting hit hard,” Hartwigsen said.
The total number of fish counted on the river hasn’t been tallied yet. Hartwigsen said after the count is done, staff will input data.
“We’re definitely up from the same time last year,” he said.
Regarding the past decline, Hartwigsen noted there is always a natural population cycle.
“If you look over the last 60 years, it goes down, then back up,” he said. “It’s a natural upswing. And fish are surviving better in the ocean.”
Hartwigsen has been counting carcasses every year since 2002, and thinks it’s “great.”
“As a whole, people tend to be a little overfocused on (the down) years,” he said. “I’ve seen it go down and seen it go up. I’m glad we’re on the upswing.”
Staff writer Barbara Arrigoni can be reached at 533-3136 or email@example.com.