Long story short: A large group of researchers, mostly centered around UC Davis, have determined that spring-run Chinook and steelhead at many locations along the West Coast — including in the Klamath and Eel — have a genetic variation that prompts them to migrate upstream earlier in the year than their more numerous, fall-run cousins. Their paper was just published in the journal Science Advances.

The Yurok Tribe, below, argues — along with the paper’s researchers — that this newly discovered genetic variation should qualify springers for additional legal protection, possibly through the Endangered Species Act.

From the Yurok Tribe:

On August 16, 2017, University of California Davis researchers published in the scientific journal Science Advances, an article featuring recent research that indicates Klamath River spring Chinook salmon are genetically distinct from fall-run Chinook salmon. This distinction may lead to the petitioning of the spring-run Chinook salmon to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Chinook. Illustration: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Yurok Tribe has always supported the appropriate conservation of our fisheries resources, including spring-run Chinook salmon. For example, the Tribe has for decades substantially, and voluntarily, limited our spring Chinook fishery due to concerns over the status of stocks in the South Fork Trinity and Salmon Rivers.  Additionally, the Tribe is actively involved in large-scale habitat restoration efforts in the South Fork Trinity River in an attempt to address the habitat degradation that has resulted in the decline of this stock.  “We’re not going to stand idly to the side as South Fork spring Chinook salmon continue to decline, we’re doing something about it, now.” said Chairman Thomas O’Rourke of the Yurok Tribe. 

The single most effective restoration action that can be taken to restore spring Chinook is the removal of the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River.  The Yurok Tribe has been an instrumental leader in this effort for many years and sees this action as critical to ensure the security of spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon in the Klamath River.  Reintroduction of spring salmon to their former range will improve the genetic and geographic diversity of spring run Chinook salmon, as well as result in significant improvements to water quality, disease issues, and access to critical habitats. 

The fact that scientists may have now found a gene that gives rise to the early run timing of spring Chinook comes as no surprise to the Yurok Tribe. In 1999, the Tribe stated in comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding a previous petition to list spring Chinook that there was more than likely a genetic link to the characteristic that distinguished the spring run. “Tribal members have always known the difference between fall and spring run fish, and we’ve always treated them differently” said Chairman O’Rourke. 

While the Yurok Tribe supports the conservation of fish stocks throughout the Klamath Basin, there is a concern about the impact an ESA listing could have upon its federally recognized fishing right. Chairman O’Rourke said, “The fish, the fishing, and the river are intertwined with the Yurok way of life, and a part of who we are as a people. While we fully support the usefulness of the ESA, a concern we have is that ESA listings have often led to immediate restrictions to fisheries, while taking substantially longer, and sometimes never addressing at all, the true factors that led to the decline of the listed species in the first place. The Yurok Tribe will continue to responsibly manage our fishery and restore spring Chinook habitat, regardless of the outcome of a potential listing.”