As seen on Nextdoor, there were multiple salmon in Old Mill Creek. It's likely that were Chinook salmon and over two feet long. Chinook are protected by the Endangered Species Act because they are rare. Please do not disturb or let your dog disturb or try to catch these or other salmon in Mill Valley creeks.

 

We reached out to fish experts like the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife about how to best protect them. The consensus is to let nature decide their fate.​

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Chinook appear by the Old Mill park bridge regularly. Coho have not been seen here for 50 years. There are also possible Steelhead salmon present now in the creek. Steelhead have white lips but usually show up from Jan to March. Chinook have black lips and splotchy spots.

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These salmon are anadromous, meaning they start their life cycle in fresh water and then live in the ocean for a while before returning to their home creek to spawn.

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One expert, Laura Chariton of watermarin.org, says that the Chinook are not generally or historically in this watershed. Many are showing up in our creeks because they are lost hatchery fish. Hatcheries remove the adipose fin on about 20% of their salmon. So, even if the Chinook salmon has an adipose fin, it does not mean that it comes from the wild.​

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It is a good sign that these fish have shown up here. It means we're getting sufficient winter rains which helps them to swim upstream. It also means that the creek is in decent but not great shape. Chariton adds that Mill Valley creeks lack complex deep pools,  refugia created by woody debris, and oxygenating riffles for spawning. Our creeks are often channelized so that big storms generally wash away young fry and eggs.

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As of Dec 15, 2024, the salmon are no longer in the pool near the bridge at Old Mill park.

 

There is an obstacle that prevents the salmon from moving further upstream where they want to go, even possibly beyond Three Wells! There are concrete barriers right under the bridge that prevents the salmon form moving up unless there is a lot of rain and water in the creek.

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Mill Valley StreamKeepers, the City of Mill Valley and Hugh Kuhn have applied for federal grants to remove the barriers, but were not successful in a recent round of applications. We will hopefully apply again soon.