The State : Salmon Run Prospects Dim

Almost two-thirds of winter-run chinook salmon captured for a special spawning run failed to survive, dimming prospects in an already poor spawning season, government wildlife officials reported. Most fish died before they could spawn and none of the 15 surviving fish is mature enough to reproduce, officials said. “The hard thing is that whatever has happened has occurred at a time when--for unknown reasons--there is an unfortunately low run,” said Roger Wolcott, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Biologists recently reported that fewer than 600 salmon had migrated from the Pacific Ocean to the spawning grounds on the Sacramento River near Shasta Dam, compared to an expected run of 2,000, and with 120,000 two decades ago. The report prompted the state Department of Fish and Game last week to declare chinook salmon an endangered species.