2-year record low salmon counted in Butte Creek snorkel survey

HELLTOWN — The state of Butte Creek’s spring-run chinook salmon population appear to be at its lowest in recent memory, with annual surveys in 2023 and 2024 showing consecutive low record counts since 1987.

A snorkel survey report published Sept. 3 by ther state Department of Fish and Wildlife showed a estimated count of 51 salmon holding in Butte Creek based on surveys conducted Aug. 12, 13, 14 and 16, 2024.

With 95 fish counted in 2023’s snorkeling survey, this count marks Butte Creek’s second consecutive record low since 1987, when the holding population was counted at 15, according to the report.

It also marks a significant decline from a count showing 21,580 fish in 2021 and 3,688 in 2022.

By this time of year, Allen Harthorn, director of Friends of Butte Creek, said he typically sees some fish holding near his property in Helltown. But not this time.

Harthorn said he suspects low salmon counts in 2023 and 2024 were a result of many factors, one including overfishing of ocean salmon in 2021 and 2022.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council banned ocean fishing in 2023 and 2024 because of overfishing, but Harthorn said the results of the fishing bans won’t be seen until the 2025 cohort returns next fall.

Harthorn said he his hopeful by the salmon may bounce back in population as seen in previous years.

“There are a couple good things in our favor,” Harthon said, including a “good run” in 2022 with about 2,000 fish counted spawning in Butte Creek.

“Those juveniles went out in early 2023 have had no fishing pressure on them whatsoever. So whatever number of fish survived to get out to the ocean had the best of all worlds for the last two years.

“They will be coming back next year, and if history is anything like it has been, we should have a substantial run of fish coming back,” Harthorn said.

Harthorn said he’s witnessed salmon replacement ratios spawn 10-to-1, and even calls the cohort of 2021 “phoenix fish” when more than 21,000 fish carcasses were counted three years after the 2018 Camp Fire. However, only 92% of this population survived because of warmer water temperatures.

The caveat, Harthorn said, is that Butte Creek is now getting to a cycle where it has only one good run out of every three years, whereas historical data shows good runs every year or two.

Harthorn characterized Butte Creek as being in a dire state. He said salmon holding in Butte Creek this year will also be seeing the effect of burn scar run off from the Park Fire.