Salmon Fishing Faces Closure Off Oregon, California Coasts   March 10, 2006   Commercial and recreational fishers may not be able to target favored chinook and coho salmon this summer in the waters off Oregon and northern California 's coast if harvest managers decide to clamp down in an attempt to protect beleaguered Klamath River fall chinook salmon stock.   During the PFMC's meeting this week in Seattle , NOAA Fisheries delivered a "guidance" letter advising that ocean salmon fishing be prohibited in the area from three miles to 200 miles offshore from Oregon 's Cape Falcon near Manzanita south to California 's Cape Sur south of San Francisco . Such a closure would be unprecedented.   "We will tell the Council that they will have very little flexibility" to provide fisheries in the area this year, said NOAA spokesman Brian Gorman.   The PFMC meets early each month to develop ocean fishery alternatives off the coasts of Washington , Oregon and California . Those options will be released today (March 10) for public comment. The Council will make its final recommendation among the options in April. NOAA Fisheries, with Commerce Department approval, makes the final decision when it implements recommendations May 1.   The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Curt Melcher said Thursday that a no-fishing option will be included, likely with a pair of fishing options.   "The Klamath situation is low enough that to do any fishing options we'd have to do it under an emergency rule," Melcher said. Once the third largest salmon run on the West Coast, the Klamath stock has dwindled in recent years, wracked by parasite infestations and poor water conditions.   "There's a parasite that exists in the Klamath that flourishes in low flow, high temperature conditions," Gorman said. Extremely low flows in 2002 restricted passage and increased the density of the fish, resulting in a die-off of at least 33,000, most of them salmon. The flows are controlled by dams on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers. Irrigation withdrawals and agriculture also have an impact on the rivers' quantity and quality.   The constraint on harvest is an anticipated return of only 29,000 naturally spawning Klamath fish, well below the threshold level called for in the PFMC's Salmon Fishery Management Plan. It calls for the protection of stocks that fall below prescribed conservation levels. The stock, which has both hatchery and natural components, is not listed under the Endangered Species Act.   That estimate assumes the ocean fishery is closed from January through August. The Klamath chinook funnel toward the river mouth, just below the Oregon border, from both the north and the south, on their spawning journey and become part of the catch for anglers and commercial fishers.   "Under the circumstances, the Plan requires closure of all salmon fisheries in the area from Cape Falcon to Pt. Sur through at least August 31, 2006," according to NOAA's guidance letter.   "During the preseason process, the Council will also be considering late season fisheries that would occur after August 31, 2006 ," the letter says. "NOAA Fisheries concludes that it would be imprudent to consider significant late season fisheries for 2006 at this time. Any late season fisheries that may be proposed should be scheduled to open after the September 2006 Council meeting and with the understanding that they would be reviewed and possibly closed by in-season action at that time."   The letter said the federal agency recommended to the California Fish and Game Commission that the recreational fishery in the Klamath River be closed in 2006.   "NOAA Fisheries acknowledges and understands the significant consequences these fishery closures will have on fishermen and their families, the businesses that rely on them, and the communities in which they live," according to the letter signed by D. Robert Lohn, NOAA Fisheries' Northwest regional administrator and Rodney R. McInnis, Southwest regional administrator. "Given the circumstances, NOAA Fisheries has begun the process of gathering data and analyzing appropriate next steps to mitigate impacts on the industry."   Current regulations include openings for commercial and recreational fisheries off the Oregon and California coast that would begin March 15. They would add to the catch of Klamath chinook during late season 2005 fisheries.   "… NOAA Fisheries currently expects that it will be necessary to close those fisheries by in-season action to comply with the FMP," the letter says.   If the run comes in at 29,000, it would mark the third straight year of failing to meet the plan's conservation objective. That triggers an "overfishing concern" and requires the PFMC to undertake an overfishing review, which would likely lead to the development of a rebuilding plan for the stock within a year.   The harvest of fish expected to return at below conservation levels would require implementation of the plan's emergency rule provisions. That requires approval of NOAA Fisheries and the Commerce Department. A closure would affect all coho directed recreational fishing and all chinook recreational and commercial fishing. Commercial coho fishing has not be allowed for several years.   "However, based on what is currently known, and given the clear provisions of the FMP, NOAA Fisheries concludes that it will be difficult to justify approval of an emergency rule to allow additional fishing in 2006," according to the guidance letter.   Last year, recreational fishers caught 24,300 chinook in Oregon waters south of Falcon from March through October. Commercial troll fishers caught 240,000.   The PFMC will also release today for public review fishing options for North of Falcon, the area from Cape Falcon to the Canadian border. Quotas are established based on estimates of salmon abundance.   With most salmon populations down from recent years, Melcher said he also expects those commercial and recreational quotas to be somewhat reduced. Columbia River fall chinook stocks typically form the largest contributing stock to Council fisheries.   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 is responsible for fisheries off the coasts of California , Oregon , and Washington .   It annually develops and recommends fishery management measures to National Marine Fisheries Service. The PFMC is made up of 14 voting representatives from Oregon , Washington , California , and Idaho . Some represent state or tribal fish and wildlife agencies, and some are private citizens who are knowledgeable about recreational and commercial fishing or marine conservation.  Except for the tribal representative, these citizens are chosen by the governors of the four states within the Council region, in conjunction with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.   The Council operates under the umbrella of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the principal law governing marine fisheries in the United States . It was adopted to extend control of U.S. waters to 200 nautical miles in the ocean and, among other things, to conserve and manage fishery resources.