Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring Program

Healthy Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, Safe and Sustainable Fisheries and Seafood Supply

California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Mariska Obedzinski and her staff operate an ongoing monitoring program in the Russian River basin to document in-stream survival of juvenile coho, outmigration of smolts, and returns of adult fish for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program and the Coastal Monitoring Program.

Innovative PIT tag technology allows biologists to collect data on fish numbers, movement, and distribution at all life stages. This technology has been an invaluable tool for monitoring coho in the Russian River basin.

Mariska and her staff are also working collaboratively on the following projects:

Our coho salmon monitoring effort is funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Additional studies are funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, with contributions from and the Sonoma County Water Agency. All of our work is made possible through the gracious support of hundreds of private landowners throughout the Russian River watershed.