Introduction
In 1998, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the National Marine Fisheries Service began a cooperative effort to collect, archive, and enter into standardized database formats the information generated by fisheries resources agencies throughout California. Data for this project have been collected from a variety of government sources, such as the Department of Fish and Game and the US Forest Service, and non-government sources, such as tribal fisheries monitoring, university research, local watershed stewardship programs, and numerous additional fisheries stakeholders. The database contains a significant amount of information regarding the current and historic status of California's anadromous fish.
The building and expansion of the cooperative anadromous fisheries abundance dataset is largely dependent on funding, support, and sharing the vision that this type of program in California is imperative. The wealth of this type of information that has already been compiled into the CalFish database demonstrates what can be accomplished through interagency cooperation.
View the CalFish Abundance Data User Guide (780 KB pdf)
Figure 1: An example of an abundance index.
Data Categories
The CalFish Abundance Database was designed to accommodate information collected using dissimilar methods. Some examples include: in-stream salmon carcass counts, salmon redd counts, live fish counted passing dams or weirs, and fish observed during summer snorkeling surveys. As the data are compiled into the database they are grouped into discrete datasets according to species, location, and field collection method. In some cases similar data are collected over the course of many years and the data form an index which is suitable for comparison analysis as illustrated in Figure 1.
Data Holdings
The initial effort has been to compile current and historical information regarding adult anadromous fish populations. This type of information is predominant in the Abundance Database. Additional data categories include fish counted returning to California hatcheries and harvest information, such as sport and tribal freshwater harvest.
Efforts are underway to develop formats and compile information regarding juvenile hatchery releases and natural juvenile abundances and to make these data available via the CalFish website. More detailed information regarding the status of these efforts is available from the contact listed below.
Figure 2: An example of location information stored in the database.
Geographic Information
All of the data in the CalFish Abundance Database are assigned a spatial location and can be displayed on a map. Salmonid abundance information is collected in many different ways (see Figure 2.) The LLID system of reference used in the abundance database, in conjunction with a fully routed 1:100,000 hydrography GIS layer, provides superior flexibility as well as simplicity in its ability to document the location where data were collected.
Referencing
All of the information contained in the Abundance Database is referenced to its source document through a reference number. A complete collection of these reference documents, plus additional reports and documents, is available within California and can be requested from the data technician below. Database references are also available from the StreamNet Library in Portland. The Portland Library catalog is fully searchable on-line, contains many digital documents, and can be accessed via the link below. The StreamNet Library can also be accessed from the CalFish Resources tab under Digital Libraries.
Point of Contact
Connie Shannon
CalFish Abundance Database Project
c/o California Dept.of Fish and Game
2440 Athens Avenue
Redding CA 96001
(530)-225-2155
connie.shannon@wildlife.ca.gov