Eureka salmon hearing set for April 1

The Times-Standard

March 25, 2008

Fishery management officials are coming to Eureka on April 1 to hear about three potential plans -- all of them stark -- for this year's ocean salmon fishing season.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council put together the options at a week-long meeting in Sacramento , where the full extent of the collapse of salmon stocks was brought to light.

Sacramento River and Central Valley salmon stocks, which have been the most abundant on the West Coast, are in exceedingly poor condition with far too few to allow fishing without an emergency order from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The council offered three possibilities for each of several different areas along the coast. In Northern California , that would be 10 days of fishing total, clustered around the three major holidays. The second option would allow some fishing for research purposes and the last would allow no fishing at all.

The fisheries service has indicated that it will severely scrutinize any option that affects Sacramento River fish.

The council is set to choose an option on April 10. It will hear comments on the plans in Washington and Oregon on March 31, and is scheduled to come to the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka on April 1. The hearing is at 7 p.m.

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Source:  http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_8688742