It will be difficult to justify a salmon season this year in the face of poor Klamath River runs, said the National Marine Fisheries Service chief regional administrator Thursday.

Rod McInnis told the Times-Standard by cell phone from the Pacific Fisheries Management Council meeting in Seattle that it will be tough to craft a season that won't affect this year's low numbers of Klamath fish. Most conservatively, but not least likely, is a ban on salmon fishing from Southern Oregon to near Big Sur.

Allowing any Klamath chinook salmon would require an emergency action. That's because more Klamath salmon were caught than expected the past two years, putting the number of wild spawning salmon below a threshold of 35,000. To do it for a third year would trigger a no-fishing requirement in the management plan for the stock.

”That's going to be difficult to justify,” McInnis said.

Still, the management council will come up with three options, two of which envision some fishing. The council will then make a recommendation that it will present to the regulation-making fisheries service in Sacramento in April.

There is a lot riding on the decision. Local commercial salmon fishermen, tribal fishermen, river anglers and ocean sport fishermen all would suffer under an outright ban, and would still feel the squeeze if this year's season is even half as generous as last year's marginal season. Campground owners, tackle shops, restaurants and other businesses also enjoy the influx of fishermen during salmon season.

But some are still holding out hope that talk of no fishing is off the mark.

”We're all just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best,” said Matt Dallam of Mad River Outfitters in Arcata.

The company is planning on running ocean charter boats this year, but is stuck in wait-and-see mode and is keeping an eye on regulations being drafted for rockfish, another popular family of sport fish.

The Klamath salmon ills reflect a river in trouble. Recent years have seen a massive adult fish kill, yearly epidemics of diseases in young fish, and low, hot, poor-quality water. Ocean conditions -- food abundance -- were poor last spring and summer.

Eureka salmon fisherman Dave Bitts said by phone from Seattle that he's hoping some Klamath fish could be available. That would allow ocean fishermen to access thousands more salmon from other, healthier rivers -- salmon that mix with Klamath stocks at sea. But computer models suggest that fishermen caught too many protected chinook out of other basins.

”That may be the hoop that we can't jump through,” Bitts said. “We're working on it.”

Rep. Mike Thompson on Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, saying the agency has slacked on a disaster assistance request made 10 months ago for last year's salmon season.

”As biologists with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council currently deliberate whether or not to cancel this year's salmon season ... your agency's failure to address last year's fishing season is even more troubling,” Thompson wrote.

McInnis said that the agency has determined that last year's overall California season wasn't that bad, with decent landings and good prices for commercially caught salmon. Some ports were more affected than others, McInnis said, but added that any aid to specific areas is still being discussed.