Van Arsdale Fish Counts

The interactive chart below lets you view the fish count data visually. You can click and drag over a year range to zoom in. Double-click to return to the full chart.

Van Arsdale male steelhead, 2012
Male Steelhead counted at Van Arsdale Fish Station
California Department of Fish and Game has staffed and maintained the Van Arsdale Fisheries Station from the early 1900's. The longest continuous record of fish returns in the entire Eel River watershed has been kept at this facility.

Coho salmon are counted when present; only three years have ever resulted in any count other than 0 at this site.

Highest recorded counts for each species:

The VAFS is located at the top of the mainstem Eel River, with 91% of the watershed downstream of it. Fish traveling on other major tributaries, such as the Middle Fork and South Fork, do not reach this station. There are no other permanent fish counting facilities on the Eel River system.

Fish Counts at Van Arsdale (318K PDF) - Official fish counts from 1933 through 2024

Fish Count Data at Van Arsdale (2K CSV file) - Fish counts from 1933 through 2024 in convenient data form

Van Arsdale Reservoir, May 2008
Van Arsdale Fish Station
The fish ladder at Van Arsdale Fish Station

More documents & data about the Eel River and Russian River systems

Return to pottervalleywater.org