Another fall has brought another drop in the number of salmon returning to the north state's principal hatchery from the Pacific Ocean after their three-year swim.
So far only about 12,000 fall-run Chinook salmon have swum from the Sacramento River up Battle Creek - on which Coleman National Fish Hatchery sits near Anderson - said Jim Smith, a project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Red Bluff.
"I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that we won't get as many fish as we did last year and could end up with a bunch less," he said. "... It's not looking too good."
As of Oct. 18, only 11,714 salmon had been spotted swimming into Battle Creek by a video camera set to catch images of fish so scientists can do a count, Smith said. At this point in last year's season, 18,929 salmon had returned. By the end of the season, 22,700 fish had returned.
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/oct/23/only-12k-salmon-return/
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