Central Valley and S.F. Bay area: Wild-salmon-viewing made easy, with new Bay Institute map

For a unique wildlife-watching experience, travel up to some of our state’s streams. In certain areas of the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay region in the next few months, you may get the chance to watch wild salmon and/or steelhead spawn (deposit their eggs) — a valuable opportunity, especially given the depletion of the species’ population in the West.

A new interactive map and calendar, released by the Bay Institute, a nonprofit conservation organization, gives the scoop on best viewing spots, along with best months for fish-spotting at each location. On the pdf map, you can click on your desired location to see a Google map pop up. The maps and other information on the spawning fish are also found in print brochures newly available at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco.

“Salmon spawning is the salmon’s grand-finale act of swimming upstream, most of the time to the exact stream where they were born, to lay their eggs,” said Kati Schmidt, public relations manager for Aquarium of the Bay.

Lucky visitors might also see male salmon battling one another “for the opportunity to fertilize the eggs,” said Schmidt, or female salmon creating gravel nests, called redds, where they deposit their eggs.

In the Bay Area, November falls within the recommended time period to stake out Walnut Creek for a gander. If you’re salmon-seeking in Lagunitas Creek and Redwood Creek, you’d better wait until December.

In the Central Valley, however, salmon-running in the American River hits a peak in mid-November. The Stanislaus River and Feather River are other recommended viewing spots; the organization includes November within the viewing periods for both locations.

Twenty-six species of West Coast salmon and steelhead are endangered, according to the Bay Institute. And, perhaps surprisingly, overfishing is not the most significant reason for the low numbers that led to the ban of commercial salmon fishing (for the second consecutive year). The main issue, according to the organization, has been mismanagement of waterways.

According to the Bay Institute, “In California, dams on nearly all salmon-producing streams have eliminated more than 1,000 river miles and 82% of their historical spawning reaches, and water diversions and pollution in the remaining accessible rivers can harm or kill both adult and young fish.”

Tip: To catch a peek at these fascinating, dwindling fish on their runs, it’s best to go after a rainfall.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo: Fish out of water: a jumping salmon. Credit: The Bay Institute

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 5:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Eco-Travel, Family & Kids, News, Tips & Advice, Northern California, Outdoors & Adventure, San Francisco, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.