Year of no salmon?

John Driscoll

The Times-Standard

March 6, 2008

California fishermen will get their first glimpse of a severely restricted salmon fishery when federal regulators next week begin to lay out a set of options that will almost certainly spell economic strife up and down the coast.

Officers with the Pacific Fishery Management Council are crunching numbers this week, trying to determine what fishing -- if any -- can be allowed. While the outlook is dim, there may be hope for at least a token fishery.

”I think it's possible there could be some fishing,” said council staff officer Chuck Tracy.

Both chinook and coho salmon runs in West Coast rivers last year were poor, especially in the Sacramento River and Central Valley , which generally produces most of the fish caught in California , Oregon and Washington . Only a third of the salmon biologists expected actually showed up.

The fall run on the Klamath River was unimpressive, as were runs on smaller rivers and streams in California and Oregon .

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week said a southward shift in the jet stream in 2005 delayed the northwesterly winds responsible for upwelling that jump-starts the ocean food chain along the California coast. Young salmon migrating to sea met with a nutrient- and food-poor ocean, NOAA said, hence the meager returns in 2007.

Projections for this year's runs are lower than projections from last year, leaving some to wonder if 2008 could be even worse.

The anticipation of a disastrous salmon season has prompted lawmakers to begin pushing for possible relief for commercial and recreational fishing interests. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein have authored a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, asking him to prepare to quickly declare a commercial fishery failure that would allow Congress to seek emergency funds.

The letter planned to be sent out today is signed by a large, bipartisan group of West Coast legislators.

”It's very serious,” Thompson said in a phone interview. “I've made everybody aware of it here.”

Gutierrez in 2006 declared the salmon fishery a disaster after regulators slashed the salmon season because Klamath River stocks were weak. The federal government provided $60.4 million in disaster relief in 2006.

But the Sacramento River runs that year were fine. This year it's the core West Coast stock that's faltering.

The economic weight of commercial and sport season in California and central and southern Oregon alone has been estimated at $61 million between 2001 and 2005, according to the council.

Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith, also a representative to the Klamath Management Zone Fisheries Coalition, said he has hope for a minimal sport fishery in Northern California .

He also said that the long-term view may not be terrible. Smith recalled years that saw poor runs and limited spawning that nonetheless produced banner runs three years later. He also remembers huge runs whose offspring apparently fared poorly in the ocean, and did not lead to strong runs three years later.

”These fish have shown in the past that they can respond ... it does not take that long to get them back,” Smith said.

Water diversions, pollution and diseases must all factor into the larger equation, as well.

Regulators are also signaling concern over rockfish stocks, especially since a limited salmon season may mean increased pressure on the bottom-dwelling fish.

”To be honest, some of the numbers for rockfish aren't looking that good either,” said California Fish and Game Commission Deputy Director Adrianna Shea.

Last year, the rockfish season was abruptly closed long before expected. The commission is expected today to hear a report on the status of these fish and what regulatory actions might be taken in 2008.

McKinleyville fisherman Jan Zeiters questioned the way the California Department of Fish and Game arrived at the conclusion about rockfish, and said many fishermen feel the information they provided to the department was used against them. He's worried that there will be almost no fishing opportunity at all this year, and that local businesses will take a serious hit.

”When you couple the potential loss of the salmon season and a really abbreviated rockfish season, it doesn't leave the fishermen a whole lot,” Zeiters said.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council meets next week in Sacramento to adopt a set of options for salmon season. Public hearings will then be held -- including one on April 1 at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka at 7 p.m. -- to hear comments on the proposals. The council will meet in Seattle the second week of April to choose an option.

John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.  

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