The University of California, Davis, and nonprofit California Trout provided key results from an in-depth report today detailing the status of 32 types of salmon, steelhead, and trout that are native to California. State of the Salmonids II: Fish in Hot Water offers concerning data about the declining health of these fish populations and opportunities for stabilizing and even recovering many species.

The report found that if present trends continue, 74 percent of California’s native salmon, steelhead, and trout species are likely to be extinct in 100 years, and 45 percent could be extinct in 50 years.

“This report should rightly be considered an alarm bell, but it should also be seen as a roadmap for how we can correct course to better support native aquatic species,” said lead report author Peter Moyle, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. “Thanks to ongoing scientific research, we now know what to do — and where — to improve the plight of native fish.”

Full article