Prospects brighter for river fishing

April 12, 2008

By Michelle Ma

Triplicate staff writer

What looks to be a dismal outcome for ocean salmon fishing coast-wide could actually boost local in-river fishing this fall.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted Thursday to allow no sport or commercial chinook salmon fishing off of California and most of Oregon this year. The regulations mark the most severe restrictions ever imposed for Pacific Coast salmon fishing.

"It's going to be devastating to the economies up and down the coast," said local resident Jim Waldvogel, marine advisor for the University of California Sea Grant Extension.

The National Marine Fisheries Service still must approve the council's recommendation by May 1, but that approval is highly likely.

But there might be a positive twist to it all. A closed ocean chinook salmon fishery could bring one of the best in-river sport seasons in recent years on the Klamath.

Sport fishermen on the Klamath River will be allowed to catch at least 22,000 chinook this fall, and that quota still could rise, said Sara Borok, fisheries biologist with California Department of Fish and Game. This fall's quota will probably be the second-largest allowed in the past 26 years, she said.

"(Fall chinook) Salmon fishing on the Klamath is going to be wide open," Borok said.

In a strange reversal of roles, the Klamath River is expected to see an average number of returning adult chinook, while the traditionally strong Sacramento returns are predicted to be gravely low. Because summer ocean fishing is closed, the Klamath's in-river sport fishermen will be allowed to catch a greater number of fall chinook.

In response to recommended ocean fishing closures spanning the entire state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in California, asking state agencies to offer grants and loans to fishermen and businesses affected by the closure. He also sought federal disaster assistance from President Bush, saying the state could lose more than 2,200 jobs and about $255 million from the fishery closure.

The governor also signed a bill Friday that channels about $5.4 million toward restoring salmon and steelhead habitat.

The Sacramento River's chinook run collapsed last fall, prompting coast-wide ocean fishing closures to protect that stock. Most of the salmon caught off the coast of California and Southern Oregon originate in the Sacramento River. Even with this far-reaching closure, only 54,000 chinook are expected to return to the Sacramento this fall, far below the minimum conservation goal of 122,000-180,000 spawners returning to the river system.

The Klamath Management Zone Fisheries Coalition, a group bringing together local fishermen, businesses and government officials, sent representatives to the Pacific Fishery Management Council's week-long meetings in Seattle to advocate an option that would have allowed some limited ocean fishing.

Local officials and fishermen had hoped for more ocean fishing days in the Klamath Management Zone—from Humbug Mountain in Curry County, Ore., to Horse Mountain in Humboldt County—given last fall's strong runs on the Klamath River and a healthy return forecast for this fall.

Coalition members wanted to see a late-summer ocean fishery in the local management zone, because by that time it is thought that many Sacramento fish—now the weak stock—might be closer to their home river and farther from local waters. The local coalition also supported genetic research that would help distinguish among different stocks in the ocean.

Federal managers didn't approve any of these measures this week, although they will allow 9,000 hatchery-raised coho salmon to be caught off the coast of central Oregon by sport fishermen.

"The problem is they didn't compromise at all," Waldvogel said. "They gave absolutely nothing."

Local officials and fishermen aren't sure what effect a complete ocean fishing closure will have on Del Norte County, but the outcome can't be positive. Crescent City usually is bustling in summer months with sport fishermen who cast out of the local port and fuel the economy.

"It's going to be devastating," said Gerry Hemmingsen, a Del Norte County supervisor and commercial fisherman. "I can't think of any local businesses it's not going to stretch out and affect."

Harbormaster Richard Young said his staff still plans to put in about 60 recreational docks this summer, the same number as last year. Many people have traveled to Crescent City for years each summer to fish and visit old friends. It remains unknown to what extent folks will continue this tradition with no ocean salmon season and likely rockfish restrictions, Young said.

"Many people still will come, but I'm sure at the margins there will still be some effect," Young said. "Fishing is just getting more and more difficult. We'll just have to find a way to live with it and move on."

For local commercial fishermen, Crescent City hasn't offered a decent salmon season for years. About 20 local fishermen instead travel to other locations, including the Bay Area, said Ken Graves, a local commercial fisherman. That won't be an option with this year's complete closure along California and most of Oregon.

Graves said he isn't surprised by this year's restrictions.

"I would be surprised if it were something different," Graves said. "If the idea is to protect Sacramento stocks, then this has to happen."

Borok with the Department of Fish and Game said she expects more fishing guides who frequent the Sacramento to travel to the Klamath this fall to conduct fishing trips on a river that's expected to be abundant with salmon—when compared with the situation at home.

"Anyone who wants a salmon is coming to the Klamath this year," Borok said.

Local fishing guide Mick Thomas said he is excited for the upcoming fall chinook season on the Klamath, which usually takes off in August and runs almost non-stop through mid-October. Thomas, who owns Lunker Fish Trips Bait & Tackle in Hiouchi, said there are already about 20 full-time river guides on the Klamath, and he expects at least a dozen more to come up from Sacramento this fall.

"We have some people who haven't ventured here who I'm sure will stray into the area," Thomas said. Lodging might be tight for extra fishing guides and customers who opt to travel north to Klamath, probably prompting a surge in business throughout Del Norte County this coming fall, he added.

Reach Michelle Ma at mma@triplicate.com.

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