Bridge Group Salmon Net Pen Project in Red Bluff
New Red Bluff salmon pens could teach fish the path back home on the Sacramento River
by Kelli Saam / anchor for Action News Now
Feb 26, 2026
To read online at Action News website: https://www.actionnewsnow.com/news/new-red-bluff-salmon-pens-could-teach-fish-the-path-back-home-on-the-sacramento/article_f13a1e62-dcd2-49df-9e5b-9b2eb78c621b.html
Watch video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUaDPXGku_M
RED BLUFF, Calif. – A groundbreaking partnership between farmers and fishermen aims to save salmon in the Sacramento River. More than 500,000 juvenile fall-run salmon are now part of an imprinting project in Red Bluff to help improve their survival.
The project, known as the “Bridge Group Project,” introduces juvenile salmon from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery into large, predator-protected net pens within the Tehama-Colusa Canal Forebay in Red Bluff. Click Graphic below to go to a Youtube video for overview.
During a three to four-week period, the fish are exposed to the chemical and olfactory cues of Sacramento River water, allowing them to imprint on these signals. Scientists believe these cues are crucial for the salmon’s successful navigation back to their native spawning areas as adults. Click Here for a Youtube video for more info.
James Stone, board president of the Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association, explained how the project will help teach the salmon the path back home to spawn. [Support our efforts with a $30 membership, click here]
“We have been trucking fish from a lot of our hatchery in the Sacramento Valley with some success and some hatcheries like the Feather River with major success rates on returns but because of the amount of water flow out of Battle Creek at Coleman National Fish Hatchery that’s such a small amount of outflow for the total delta outflow we need to find ways to import these fish better on the Sacramento main stem water which comes out of Shasta and Keswick Reservoir then we can’t get those fish to return,” Stone said.
“The goal is that in a couple of years. to have ave this proof of concept when the next drought hits, we have an alternate option and a Plan B that will not cause an additional collapse,” said Stone.
In recent years, low numbers of returning salmon have led to the cancellation of the fishing season on the Sacramento River for three consecutive years. This project represents the latest effort to improve survival rates and ensure the salmon can successfully find their way back home to spawn.
From Nor-Cal Guides: Learn more about the acoustic tags the salmon receive from Cramer Fish Sciences in order to track the fish on their migration. Click Here for YouTube video.
