Fishery Council Closes Salmon Fishing Off Oregon and California 

by Dan Bacher
April 10, 2008  

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) at its meeting in Seattle today (April 10) voted to close recreational and commercial salmon fishing off the coast of California and most of Oregon this year.

The only exception to the closure will be a selective recreational fishery for coho salmon in Oregon , according to Dan Wolford, PFMC member and Coastside Fishing Club Science Director. The fishery closure will extend from Cape Falcon in northern Oregon to the U.S.-Mexico border.

This complete closure of fishing for chinook salmon is unprecedented since commercial fishing begin in California in 1848. The decision was made because of the "unprecedented collapse" of Central Valley salmon stocks. The Sacramento River fall chinook population, until recently the most robust West Coast salmon run, was the driver of West Coast salmon fisheries.

As recently as 2002, 775,000 adults returned to spawn. This year, even with all ocean salmon fishing closures, the return of fall run chinook to the Sacramento is projected to be only 54,000 fish.

"It was a very emotional day," said Wolford. "We until the end were considering the possibility of doing a genetic stock assessment of chinook stocks to be conducted by commercial fishermen in a catch and release fishery. However, the Council determined that the hooking mortality caused to Central Valley chinooks wouldn't be justified, since every fish is so important when the numbers of salmon are so low."

The Council also voted against any option for a fishery in the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) on California 's North Coast because of the estimated mortality of Sacramento River salmon that would occur. "We could not even risk the estimated mortality of 34 Central Valley chinooks that would occur if this fishery was approved," noted Wolford.

The Department of Fish and Game will also be recommending to the California Fish and Game Commission the closure of Central Valley rivers to any directed chinook salmon fishing this year, according to Wolford.

Senator Patricia Wiggins (D – Santa Rosa), chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, responded to today’s recommendation by the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

“We are experiencing a grave crisis with regard to our salmon fishery, and the council’s recommendation reflects the urgent need to do something now to return the fishery to sustainability," Wiggins said. "We owe that to these magnificent fish and to the salmon industry itself, a $100 million industry comprised not just of fishermen, but of Native peoples, tackle shops, processors, ice suppliers, restaurants, and tourism as well.”

Wiggins is the author of Senate Bill 562, which allocates nearly $5.3 million in Proposition 84 funds to the state Department of Fish and Game, which will incorporate the funds into its coastal salmon and steelhead fishery restoration efforts. If signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, SB 562 would also enable the state to leverage up to $20 million in federal matching funds for salmon habitat restoration.

Wiggins has scheduled a hearing on the collapse of the salmon fishery on Thursday, April 17 at the state Capitol in Sacramento . The hearing of the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

The collapse of the Central Valley salmon stocks and the commercial and recreational salmon fisheries is a disaster that could have been prevented with proper management by the state and federal governments. Although Sacramento River chinook salmon suffer from an array of problems, the most significant are the massive export of water from the California Delta by the state and federal pumps and declining water quality. Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his corporate agribusiness and developer buddies are pushing for a peripheral canal and more dams that would allow the projects to export even more water in an estuary whose fisheries are already crashing.

On the Sacramento, where the salmon collapse is the immediate cause of the fishery closure, water managers diverted and pumped an all time record high of 6.4 million acre feet of water from the delta in 2005, the same year juvenile salmon that would have returned as adults in 2007 were attempting to migrate through the delta and out to sea, according to Earthjustice.

“What’s happened is no surprise given the massive water diversions from the Sacramento San Francisco Bay delta and the failure to address toxic discharges into this estuary, an ecosystem critical to the survival of the salmon run that drives our west coast fishery,” emphasized Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA). “It’s obvious that we’ve got to go to work to both save fishermen and fix the delta to bring back our fishery.”

The rise and fall of Central Valley chinook salmon returns graph by Dick Pool.

rise_and_fall.jpg

Here is the press release from Earthjustice and PCFFA, followed by the release from the National Marine Fisheries Service about today's unprecedented decision:

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2008
Contact: Todd True, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 ex 30
Zeke Grader, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
415-561-5080

Seattle, WA -- West Coast fishery officials announced the shutdown of salmon fishing this year for all of California and most of Oregon. The decision is based on the failure of California Sacramento River fall run Chinook salmon, the run commercial and sport fishermen target. These fish did not return last summer and fall. The lack of income for salmon dependent communities could prove to be a severe economic blow.

“It’s going to be devastating,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “We’re going to be asking for federal assistance and looking for alternatives to keep our fishermen afloat for the next year or two until we get a chance to fix salmon problems.”

Although today’s news is tied primarily to Sacramento River salmon stocks, west coast salmon problems are becoming chronic and result in large a part from government mismanagement of the three big salmon-producing rivers: the Sacramento, Klamath, and Columbia. The crisis is coast wide, affecting fisheries and coastal communities from Washington to Oregon to California and even to Alaska .

The salmon news comes as we await new or revised federal management plans or court rulings on existing plans for massive dam, diversion or irrigation projects on all three major salmon rivers. Federal fishery experts are currently reviewing the affects on salmon of these federal projects and will issue new or revised “biological opinions” for the Klamath and Columbia projects later this spring.

On the Sacramento River, a federal and California plan to divert even more water from the delta south has been challenged in court because of the harm it will do to the protected runs of salmon in the Central Valley. A ruling is expected anytime on this case. All three rivers contain both protected, and non-protected, runs of salmon.

“These salmon are recoverable if we make smart choices and make them soon,” said Earthjustice attorney Todd True. “The science tells us it’s not hopeless, but it is increasingly urgent to pay attention and change the way we’re managing these three rivers so all people can enjoy salmon again.”

On the Sacramento, where the salmon collapse is the immediate cause of the fishery closure, water managers diverted and pumped an all time record high of 6.4 million acre feet of water from the delta in 2005, the same year juvenile salmon that would have returned as adults in 2007 were attempting to migrate through the delta and out to sea.

“What’s happened is no surprise given the massive water diversions from the Sacramento San Francisco Bay delta and the failure to address toxic discharges into this estuary, an ecosystem critical to the survival of the salmon run that drives our west coast fishery,” emphasized Grader. “It’s obvious that we’ve got to go to work to both save fishermen and fix the delta to bring back our fishery.”

During the first week of April a delegation of commercial salmon fishermen from California , Oregon , and Washington visited Washington DC where they asked for Congressional hearings to look into the root causes of the Pacific salmon crisis.

“Congressional hearings are needed to focus on measures we need to fix our rivers and the delta so that we can again have fishermen on he water and locally caught king salmon in our markets,” said Grader of PCFFA.

Pacific Fishery Management Council NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ms. Jennifer Gilden, Communications Officer, 503-820-2280
Dr. Donald McIsaac, Executive Director, 503-820-2280


RECORD LOW SALMON FISHERIES ADOPTED

SEATTLE, Wash – The Pacific Fishery Management Council today adopted the
most restrictive salmon fisheries in the history for the West Coast, in
response to the unprecedented collapse of Sacramento River fall Chinook
and the exceptionally poor status of coho salmon from Oregon and
Washington. The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine
Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2008 .

“This is a disaster for West Coast salmon fisheries, under any
standard,” said Council chairman Don Hansen. “There will be a huge
impact on the people who fish for a living, those who eat wild-caught
king salmon, those who enjoy recreational fishing, and the businesses
and coastal communities dependent on these fisheries.”

The Council adopted a complete closure of commercial and sport Chinook
fisheries off California and most of Oregon and allowed only a 9,000
fishery for hatchery coho only off Central Oregon . Salmon fisheries off
California and Oregon typically have been large – involving seasons that
span from May 1 to October 31 and averaged over 800,000 Chinook caught
per year from 2000 to 2005.

“The reason for the sudden decline of Sacramento River fish is a mystery
at this time,” said Council Executive Director Don McIsaac. “The only
thing that can be done in the short term is to cut back the commercial
and recreational fishing seasons to protect the remaining fish. The
longer-term solution will involve a wide variety of people, agencies,
and organizations. But for now, unfortunately, those involved in the
salmon fisheries are paying the price.”

Fisheries north of Cape Falcon will also be severely restricted.
Although Chinook quotas in this area are similar to 2007 and Chinook
stocks are generally more abundant, depressed natural coho stocks are
constraining access of commercial fisheries to Chinook stocks. Sport
fisheries, many of which depend primarily on coho, are even more
restricted. Coho quotas are less than 20 percent of the 2007 season for
non-Indian fisheries and about 50 percent of 2007 levels for
treaty-Indian fisheries.

Background

The closures south of Cape Falcon , in northern Oregon , are due to a
sudden, unprecedented decline in the number of Sacramento River fall
Chinook returning to the river this year. The stock is the driver of
commercial and recreational salmon fisheries off California and most of
Oregon . The minimum conservation goal for Sacramento fall Chinook is
122,000 – 180,000 spawning adult salmon (this is the number of salmon
needed to return to the river to maintain the health of the run). As
recently as 2002, 775,000 adults returned to spawn. This year, even with
all ocean salmon fishing closures, the return of fall run Chinook to the
Sacramento is projected to be only 54,000.

Social and Economic Impacts

“The salmon fishing culture that has been a cornerstone of the coastal
communities has reached a low ebb point in 2008 for the collective three
West Coast states,” said Mark Cedergreen, Council Vice Chairman. “This
was the responsible thing to do, but it will hurt, particularly south of
Cape Falcon , Oregon .”

The economic implications of the low abundance of Sacramento River fall
Chinook salmon will be substantial for commercial, recreational, marine
and freshwater fisheries. In California and Oregon south of Cape Falcon ,
where Sacramento fish stocks have the biggest impact, the commercial and
recreational salmon fishery had an average economic value of $103
million per year between 1979 and 2004. From 2001 to 2005, average
economic impact to communities was $61 million ($40 million in the
commercial fishery and $21 million in the recreational fishery).

The record low seasons are devastating news to beleaguered salmon fleets
on the west coast. California and Oregon ocean salmon fisheries are
still recovering from a poor fishing season in 2005 and a disastrous one
in 2006, when Klamath River fall Chinook returns were below their
spawning escapement goal. The catch of salmon in 2007 in these areas was
also well below average, as the first effects of the Sacramento River
fall Chinook stock collapse was felt.

Causes

The reason for the sudden collapse of the Sacramento fall Chinook stock
is not readily apparent, although both natural and hatchery-produced
fish have been similarly affected. However, it is clear that overfishing
did not cause the depressed condition, as the parent spawning
populations were all above the goal. The National Marine Fisheries
Service has suggested ocean temperature changes, and a resulting lack of
upwelling, as a possible cause of the sudden decline. Many biologists
believe a combination of human-caused and natural factors will
ultimately explain the collapse, including both marine conditions and
freshwater factors such as in-stream water withdrawals, habitat
alterations, dam operations, construction, pollution, and changes in
hatchery operations.

The Council has requested a multi-agency task force led by the National
Marine Fisheries Service’s West Coast Science Centers to research about
50 potential causative factors and report back to the Council at the
September meeting in Boise , Idaho .

Process

The Council reached this decision after several weeks spent reviewing
three season options. The review process included input by federal and
state fishery scientists, fishing industry members, public testimony,
and three public hearings in coastal communities. The Council received
additional scientific information and took public testimony before
taking final action. The decision will be forwarded to the National
Marine Fisheries Service for approval and implementation into federal
regulations.

In addition, the coastal states will decide on compatible freshwater
fishery regulations at their respective Commission hearings.

Press Packet and Briefing Materials Available

A press packet with contacts, background information, a map of affected
areas, and acronyms is available on the Council website at
http://www.pcouncil.org/newsreleases/sal_presspacket.html.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery
management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3-200 miles
offshore of the United States of America coastline. The Pacific Council
recommends management measures for fisheries off the coasts of
California , Oregon , and Washington .

###

On the Web

Pacific Fishery Management Council: http://www.pcouncil.org

Options for 2008 salmon management:
http://www.pcouncil.org/salmon/salcurr.html#saloptions08

Schedule of hearings:
http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2008/salproc08.html#hearings

Geographical points used in salmon management:
http://www.pcouncil.org/facts/geosalmon.pdf

Online press packet:
http://www.pcouncil.org/newsreleases/sal_presspacket.html  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material  herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed  a  prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and  educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml 

Source:  http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/10/18492083.php