The annual run of fall chinook provided sustenance for the Hupa people during the winter months. Like most other West Coast rivers supporting anadromous fish, the Trinity River has experienced a decline in its chinook, steelhead, and coho runs. The Trinity's coho salmon is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. 

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department is partially responsible for the monitoring and reporting of the Fishery for the entire Trinty River Basin. Through funding the the Bureau of Reclamation, BIA Compact, and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Department conducts various monitoring activities. Our employees tag fish, operate weirs, trap outmigrant juvenile fish, monitor rotary screw traps, conduct creel census, and conduct tribal net harvest monitoring. Much of the data gathered through these monitoring activities is used to estimate future anadromous runs in order to determine allocation between the ocean fishery, Tribal fisheries, and the sport fishery.

Along with monitoring and reporting, Hoopa Tribal Fisheries takes several measures to ensure optimal spawning habitat and rearing grounds in our seven major tributaries located within the Hoopa Reservation. Through habitat typing, channel morphology characterization, and sediment loading analysis, the Department is able to assess local stream habitat and address shortcomings through restoration activities.

Our Tribal Fisheries Department co-manages the Trinity River Hatchery with the California Dept of Fish & Game. Every year we mark almost two million juvenile fish. These marked fish identify hatchery from wild fish and provide a method to predict and monitor harvest.