PROTECTING
WILD CALIFORNIA
Curtis Brownfield, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish biologist, pulls a decaying winter king salmon carcass out of the Sacramento River. Summer surveys usually allow biologists to track how many of the threatened fish make it back to spawn. (JAKE SISCO/USFWS)
CARCASS SURVEY TELLS HOW WELL SAC WINTER CHINOOK RUN IS DOING By Jake Sisco
T
he feel of the wind in your face, the sound of a boat motor roaring down a river, the spray of water, the warm sun on your back and the smell of rotting flesh. This is what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists on the Sacramento River experience
when conducting winter Chinook salmon carcass surveys. “The carcass survey is a cooperative effort between the Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission,” said Kevin Niemela, a USFWS supervisory fish biologist located at the Red Bluff Fish and Wildlife Office.
“Typically, two boats are used to survey the river daily, one operated by the Service and the other operated by PSMFC, working under contract through (CDFW). Each boat travels upstream and searches for carcasses, covering opposite shorelines.” The survey allows USFWS to get an idea of how many fish are returning, and
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