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Managers
float warning of ‘disaster’ for 2008 Pacific salmon season
The
The federal fisheries
agency charged with setting salmon season quotas for the West Coast
signaled this week that 2008 commercial ocean salmon season may be a
worse than the devastating 2006 season.
In a follow-up to an
assessment last month, the Pacific Fishery Management Council released a
report this week indicating that Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon
that make up the majority of fish for California’s salmon stocks are
expected to fall to an all-time low this year.
While the report
doesn’t yet forecast exact number of the Sacramento’s fall Chinook,
an announcement from the PFMC says it infers total abundance to be near
the low end of the spawning goal range in 2008 — even if all ocean and
freshwater fisheries are closed.
“This is very bad news
for West Coast salmon fisheries,” stated PFMC Chairperson Don Hansen.
“The word ‘disaster’ comes immediately to mind, and I mean a
disaster much worse than the Klamath (River) fishery disaster of
2006.”
The Preseason Report I
Stock Abundance Analysis is the second in an annual series of four
reports prepared by the PFMC’s Salmon Technical Team to document and
help guide salmon fishery management off the coasts of
This report provides 2008
salmon abundance projections and an analysis of the impacts of last
year’s regulations on the projected 2008 season, which will be focus
of PFMC discussions during upcoming meetings to discuss the season
regulations March 11, 12 and 13 in
The PFMC is expected to
adopt the 2008 management options that will be available for the public
review on March 14.
The federally declared
fisheries failure in 2006 resulted from a nearly complete shutdown of
the commercial season along
With the commercial and
possibly sport salmon seasons at risk this year, is there any good news
for fishermen on the
“Not lately,” said
Newman said just going by
the PFMC’s bylaws, it looks like there won’t be any take for the
commercial Chinook salmon in
If any fishing is allowed
at all, Newman said it won’t likely target the fall Chinook that make
up the bulk of fish stocks the state’s commercial and sport salmon
seasons are based on.
Sacramento River salmon,
which aren’t federally protected fish as are the Sacramento’s winter
run Chinook, are primarily caught off California and Oregon, but are
also found off Washington and as far north as British Columbia,
according to PFMC.
They are typically one of
the healthiest and most-abundant stocks on the West Coast and are the
primary contributor for the commercial and recreational fisheries off
But Newman said the one
bright spot on the horizon is that the salmon season is cyclical.
“There might be a big
2009 run out there,” Newman said. “These things can bounce back
really fast.”
Public hearings to
receive input on the options are scheduled for March 31 in
Final council action on
the commercial and recreational seasons will take place at its
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Source: http://eurekareporter.com/article/080301-managers-float-warning-of-
disaster-for-2008-pacific-salmon-season