| HALF
MOON BAY — As salmon season draws to a close on Oct. 15, local
fishermen aren't sorry to see it go. An unexpected fisheries council
decision barred salmon fishermen from the waters off the San Mateo
Coast this June — the moment when the salmon were closest to
shore.
Worried that a part of the Pacific salmon population had not recovered from a record die-off in the Klamath River three years ago, the Pacific Fishery Management Council decided this spring to cut off all commercial salmon fishing north of Pigeon Point for the entire month of June. "June is the most profitable month for fishermen out of Half Moon Bay. We weren't able to get out there this year," said Mike Duffy, a freelance commercial fisherman who spent the summer on the crew of the Saint, fishing for salmon. Expensive ban For the Saint and other boats, the summer's take was at best mediocre compared to the past few years. In 2004, local fishermen netted as many as 15,000 pounds of salmon and sold them for up to $4 a pound. This year, the Saint pulled in 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of king salmon, for a profit of $20,000. That wasn't the sort of season fishermen were anticipating. "The Department of Fish and Game predicted we'd have 1.7 million salmon in the Pacific. It was going to be a banner salmon year," said Capt. Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat, an El Granada-based sportfishing vessel. But this spring, the PFMC, which manages regional fishery populations, saw a major decline in mature chinook salmon and imposed the last-minute restriction before the start of the season in June. As a result, some San Mateo County fishermen traveled as far as 150 miles to the Monterey County coast or up to Mendocino to find the elusive schools of silvery fish — a trip that can cost up to $1,000 just in fuel. |
Disappearing fish
The restricted chinook are what's left of the population born in 2002, the year of the Klamath River die-off.
More than 34,000 salmon died along the river and its tributaries that year, due in part to the government's decision to divert a portion of the water to potato farmers in Oregon, where the river begins. Hot weather raised water temperatures above what the salmon could tolerate, and freshwater diseases broke out.
The fry that survived swam down the Klamath River to the ocean, and have been waiting for three years to swim back up and spawn. The PFMC imposed its ban to help them get there.
As the season draws to a close, hundreds of thousands of chinook are nearing the Golden Gate Bridge on the final leg of their journey to their birthplace. At the first rain, they will be gone.
Dozens of fishing boats are parked out there to profit from this final burst, but Mike Duffy is not. For him, salmon season is over.
"There was one bite (early on) and the fish disappeared," he said.
Duffy spent the month of June catching black cod, a coastal fish, with a different fishing crew.
Capt. Gary Frederic of the Saint spent the time preparing for crab season, which begins in November.
"I worked on the boat.
I took some time off," said Frederic. "Crab season is only six
weeks away."
Staff writer Julia Scott can be reached at 348-4340