Trivia

One of the fattiest fishes is salmon: 4 ounces of the delectable fish contains 9 grams of fat.

People who live along Salmon Creek are digging through cluttered attics and garages, looking for stuffed or mounted trophies of long-dead coho salmon so scientists can scrape off some of the scales in search of the fish's DNA.

It sounds like a scene out of "Jurassic Park," but no one is trying to recreate living coho from the genetic material.

The hunt is on because scientists now know salmon evolve differently in different streams. A salmon from the Mendocino County's Noyo River, for example, may die if introduced into the Russian River. So if coho are ever to be restored to west Sonoma County's Salmon Creek -- or any other stream or river -- scientists want to make sure the new fish they introduce are genetically similar to ones there originally.

DNA research is being conducted on chinook and coho salmon, as well as steelhead, which scientists consider a strain of salmon. All three are listed as threatened species.

The dream is to create fisheries robust enough to support recreational fishing and to maintain the species' and nature's diversity, said Gail Seymour, watershed restoration planner for the California Department of Fish and Game.