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Wild fish tell the story of California’s waters.

California’s salmon, steelhead, and trout are among the most sensitive indicators of watershed health. When they thrive, rivers are working. When they disappear, it’s a warning that the water systems sustaining communities are under stress.

Explore State of the Salmonids

Why this matters now

California is home to one of the most diverse collections of salmon and trout.

California sits at the southern edge of the Pacific salmon’s range and is home to 32 distinct native salmon, steelhead, and trout populations — including species, subspecies, and ecotypes — each uniquely adapted to a specific river, creek, lake, or watershed. Together, they represent one of the most diverse cold-water fisheries on the West Coast.

Today, that extraordinary biodiversity is at risk of disappearing. CalTrout’s State of the Salmonids II (2017) found that nearly half of California’s native salmonids are likely to be extinct within 50 years if current trends continue.

But these fish represent far more than biodiversity. Because they require clean, cold, connected rivers, they are among the best indicators of watershed health. Every salmon, steelhead, and trout spends its life testing California’s rivers. When fish thrive, watersheds are functioning. When they struggle, it’s a signal that the water systems supporting people, agriculture, and wildlife are under increasing pressure.

The good news is that when rivers recover, native fish recover too. Across California, we’re seeing salmon return to newly reopened habitat, coho rebound where cold water habitat has been restored, and trout persist where healthy watersheds remain protected.

It’s Not About the Fish

32

Distinct native salmon, steelhead, and trout populations — including species, subspecies, and unique ecotypes — call California home.

1

of the 32 species, Bull Trout, extirpated from the state

45%

Likely to be extinct within 50 years if current trends continue (as of 2017)

#1

California is the most biodiverse trout state in the nation

Species stories

Every fish has something to teach us.

A symbol of what we stand to lose

California Golden Trout

Found nowhere else on Earth, the California Golden Trout evolved in the cold, clear headwaters of the South Fork Kern River and Golden Trout Creek. Today it faces warming streams, habitat degradation, and hybridization with non-native trout. Its future depends on protecting the high-elevation watersheds it calls home.

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Proof that restoration works

California Coastal Coho Salmon

Coho salmon require some of the coldest, cleanest water in California. Decades of habitat restoration, improved management, and local partnerships are beginning to reverse declines in parts of the North Coast. Their recovery demonstrates that when we restore healthy watersheds, fish will respond.

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A warning we cannot ignore

Bull Trout

Bull Trout once inhabited the cold spring-fed waters of the McCloud River. By the 1970s they had disappeared from California. Their loss reminds us that once rivers are disrupted, recovery may no longer be possible.

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Native Salmonids

Explore California’s native fish.

Browse all 32 native salmon, steelhead, and trout, learn what each one reveals about California’s rivers, and discover the work CalTrout is doing to bring back the most vulnerable.

Exlore all native fish

Headwaters

Where Fish Are Born & Water Begins

Headwaters are where many wild salmon, steelhead, and trout begin their lives — and where much of California’s water supply originates. Healthy forests, meadows, and springs capture snowmelt, keep rivers cold, and sustain flows throughout the year. Restoring these landscapes supports fish while strengthening water supplies for downstream communities.

Rushing river flows through greenery

River Channels

Where Fish Migrate & Water Flows

Salmon, steelhead, and trout depend on connected rivers to reach spawning and rearing habitat. Dams, undersized culverts, and other barriers fragment rivers, limiting fish migration and disrupting natural river processes. CalTrout reopens rivers to restore healthier watersheds for fish and people alike.

Floodplains

Where Fish Grow & Floodwaters Spread Safely

Floodplains provide young fish with abundant food while enhancing habitat diversity, slowing water down and naturally storing floodwaters to replenish groundwater. Reconnecting rivers to their floodplains strengthens fish populations and builds healthier, more resilient communities.

Estuaries

Where Fish Prepare for the Ocean & Communities Build Coastal Resilience

Estuaries give young fish the food, shelter, and time they need before entering the ocean. Restoring these productive ecosystems improves water quality, supports fish and wildlife, and strengthens California’s coastal communities’ resilience to extreme weather events.

Climate Change

The Force Reshaping Every River

Climate change threatens nearly 90% of California’s native salmon, steelhead, and trout species through warmer streams, more severe droughts, larger wildfires, and unpredictable snowpack. By restoring healthy watersheds, CalTrout helps rivers stay cooler, store more water, and provide climate refuges that give fish a better chance to adapt.

Klamath River monitoring team tagging Chinook
Photo: Shane Anderson, Swiftwater Films

A Reason for Hope: Klamath River Recovery

When rivers recover, fish return.

In 2024, the removal of four dams on the Klamath River reopened hundreds of miles of historic salmon habitat. Soon after, CalTrout and our partners installed a monitoring station near the former Iron Gate Dam site to document the river’s recovery.

Within months, thousands of Chinook salmon were recorded migrating into habitat that had been inaccessible for more than a century. The Klamath demonstrates what’s possible when science, restoration, Tribal leadership, and long-term partnerships come together. Rivers can recover — and wild fish can too.

Learn More about the klamath

from our science program

“Salmon, steelhead, and trout are indicators of watershed health, and their fate is inseparable from the future of California itself.”

Darren Mierau/Director of Science, CalTrout

SOS · A ONCE-A-DECADE REPORT

The only statewide assessment of California’s native salmon, steelhead, and trout.

CalTrout, in collaboration with academic partners, has produced two once-a-decade State of the Salmonids reports — comprehensive scientific assessments of all 32 native salmon, steelhead, and trout species in California.

These reports are the only analyses of their kind. Their message is clear: without action, California risks losing its wild fish.

In 2027, CalTrout will release SOS III, building on assessments from 2008 and 2017 to track trends over time — using a proven, peer-informed methodology trusted by agencies and academic institutions.

32

Species Assessed

160

Citations by academics, legislators, policymakers, foundations, and nonprofits

45%

of California salmonids likely to be extinct in next 50 years if current trends persist 

READ SOS II REPORT
SUPPORT SOS III

Our work in action

Restoring rivers & California’s wild fish across the state

Support WILD FISH

Wild fish cannot help themselves — they need us and they need you.

Nearly half of our fish are likely to be extinct within 50 years if current trends continue, and when fish collapse it means our water systems are at risk too. We can all play a role in protecting California’s wild fish and our state’s water future.

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Photo: Lee Duckwall

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