The California commercial ocean salmon season is set to be closed for a third year but recreational fishing opportunities, albeit severely limited ones, look likely in state waters for the first time since 2022 under recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
A final decision is expected from the National Marine Fisheries Service in mid-May.
A release from the council notes the proposed limitations and commercial closure for ocean fisheries south of Oregon are due to “the low abundance forecasts for both Klamath River and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”
According to a March preseason report prepared for the council, this is the eighth consecutive year that Klamath River Chinook stock has met the criteria for “overfished status.”
“This year’s West Coast ocean salmon fisheries were developed through close collaboration among the council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public,” PFMC Executive Director Merrick Burden says in a news release. “The adopted seasons reflect the valuable input we received from fishing communities — balancing their needs and priorities with the critical goal of giving struggling salmon populations a chance to recover.”
Following the council’s announcement, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife press release notes the state’s salmon populations have been hit hard by multiple years of drought and other climate change-related environmental stressors.
“A third year without fishing is a serious blow to California’s commercial salmon fleet,” Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association President George Bradshaw says in the release. “We were optimistic about a return to salmon fishing for California’s fleet, but the reality is, the low abundance and return estimates will not provide the economic impact we need. The risk of fishing this depleted population is simply not worth the reward.”
In a statement, North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman says coastal and river communities tied to salmon are being “dealt another devastating impact with an unprecedented closure” and warns President Donald Trump’s “extremist agenda is only going to worsen this already developing crisis.”
“It’s completely unacceptable — and while I’m relieved that I’ve been able to pass reforms in Congress for federal disaster relief, the amount of disaster money secured is not nearly enough to sustain the needs of fishermen, tribes, businesses, and families who depend on healthy salmon fisheries,” Huffman says. “Now entering this third canceled season, we will have to restart this process for federal funding once again and keep pushing the state to speed up its own process for quantifying impacts.”
On the environmental side, Huffman says, “we need to confront the irresponsible policies that are killing salmon — including failing to protect cold water supplies, starving rivers and tributaries of flows salmon need to survive, and over-pumping in the Delta during sensitive times for migrating salmon.”
Under the summer recreational season proposed by the council, the entire California coast would be open for two days — June 7 and June 8 — with a statewide harvest limit of 7,000 Chinook salmon. If the full allotment is not caught, an additional two-day window would open July 5, with additional dates later that month and in August until the limit is met.
“California’s recreational anglers welcome the opportunity to get back on the water,” PFMC member Marc Gorelnik says in the CDFW release. “The number of open days is exceedingly limited in order to achieve negligible impacts on Klamath River Chinook salmon.”
The CDFW also notes the “short windows of open fishing followed by a period of closure are designed to allow for careful tracking and estimation of catch” by the agency “to ensure the fishery does not exceed the harvest guidelines.”
“After years of full closure for salmon fishing, the opportunity for limited recreational salmon fishing brings hope,” CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham says in the release. “We know, however, that this news brings little relief for California’s commercial salmon fisheries.
“Salmon populations are still recovering from severe drought and other climate challenges and have not yet benefited from our consecutive years of wet winters and other actions taken to boost populations,” he continues. “I’m deeply appreciative for the partnership of the fishing community in rebuilding these impacted populations and in fighting together for the future of salmon in California.”
This article appears in Portrait of a Prairie.