(SFGAte) - One of the last wild runs of chinook salmon in California is sinking fast amid the four-year drought and now appears perilously close to oblivion after the federal agency in charge of protecting marine life documented the death of millions of young fish and eggs in the Sacramento River.

The National Marine Fisheries Service reported Wednesday that 95 percent of the winter-run chinook eggs, hatchlings and juvenile salmon died this year in the river, which was too warm to support them despite conservation efforts.

It was the second year in a row that most of the juvenile salmon died in the soupy water released from Shasta Dam, failing to make it to the ocean.

The situation could have far-reaching effects, leading to cuts in water allotments to farmers next year if projected rains and a strong snowpack don’t erase drought deficits this winter. Commercial and recreational fishing limits could be imposed to protect the endangered chinook population, taking a toll on those industries.

“Certainly there is cause for alarm when we are talking about 95 percent mortality,” said Garwin Yip, the branch chief for water operations and delta consultations for the fisheries service. “We think it is temperature-related.”