It takes effort to keep hatchery salmon safe, particularly from live disease-causing agents like bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms, which collectively are called pathogens. The fish hatcheries run by federal and state agencies employ different techniques to ensure the health of California’s salmon populations. In California, the two agencies involved in this effort are U.S. Fish…

The spike-toothed salmon (Oncorhynchus rastrosus) was a roughly 7-foot-long species that lived along the Pacific Coast and Japan five million years ago. This history of this species, particularly its evolution and extinction, reveals that it is difficult to predict the results of climate change.  Data from spike-toothed salmon fossils, reviewed with information from biological studies…

In the mid to late 1980s, the Great Lakes region began addressing the spread of zebra and quagga mussels. These two species are not native to the U.S. They have done an enormous amount of ecological damage in the Great Lakes and their tributaries. The federal government and States in the Great Lakes region have…

You may have seen golden mussels mentioned on your local news or on the website of a state agency. Wherever you heard of them first, you are now aware that California is at the beginning of a long fight. The objective is to protect waterways and water infrastructure from a takeover by golden mussels.  The…

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW’s) Heritage and Wild Trout Program (the Program) manages designated waters for wild trout species. The term “wild trout” means a fish born and reared in a specific location without human intervention. The term “heritage trout” refers to trout that have lived in a specific location since prehistoric…