A scientific study covering 11 years of fish migration on the Stanislaus River underscores how simply sending more water downstream may not be doing endangered Chinook salmon any favors. Data shows there is a certain threshold for pulse flow volume that, if it is exceeded, doesn’t improve fish migration. It also points to other solutions such as the placement of the rock barrier at the head of the Old River west of Mossdale Crossing/Interstate 5 in Lathrop that suggests other water management actions and environmental factors that lift the level of dissolved oxygen and temperature are critical in improving fish migration.