Regulators warn fishermen of upcoming restrictions on salmon

By TERENCE CHEA
Associated Press Writer

March 06, 2008


SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) -- State wildlife officials warned fishermen Wednesday that salmon fishing will likely be severely restricted this year because of a precipitous decline in the number of wild chinook returning to spawn in the Central Valley.

Officials with the California Department of Fish and Game met with fishermen to share the latest data on chinook salmon populations and solicit their views on possible restrictions this year - if any fishing is allowed at all.

"There won't be a lot of opportunity, and even if you have opportunity, you probably won't catch anything," said Allen Grover, a state biologist. "There's not enough fish for everyone. So who gets the fish?"

Members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council attended Wednesday's meeting ahead of the council's meeting in Sacramento next week, when they will choose management options for this year's salmon season, which usually begins in May. They will set final regulations when they meet in Seattle in April.

"If you look at the numbers, this looks very, very bad," said Don Hansen, who chairs the council, which regulates West Coast fishing. "This is a major collapse of the fishery."

In most years, about 90 percent of wild chinook or "king" salmon caught off the California coast originate in the Sacramento River and its tributaries, but the number of returning adults dropped dramatically last fall.

Only about 90,000 adult spawners returned to the Sacramento River and its tributaries last year, the second lowest number on record and well below the government's conservation goals. That's down from 277,000 in 2006 and a record high of 804,000 in 2002.

Biologists are predicting that this year's salmon returns could be even lower because the number of returning young male fish, known as "jacks," hit an all-time low last year.

Other West Coast rivers also have seen declines in their salmon runs, though not as steep as California 's Central Valley .

Some marine scientists say the salmon declines can be attributed in part to unusual weather patterns that have disrupted the marine food chain along the Pacific Coast in recent years.

But many fishermen believe the main culprit behind the Sacramento River 's collapse is increased pumping of freshwater from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmers and water districts in the Central Valley and Southern California .

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