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. […]
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Salmon Spotted in Klamath Basin for First Time in More Than a Century
On Wednesday, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist spotted a first-in-a-century sight on a tributary to the Klamath River in the Klamath Basin: A fall-run Chinook salmon. Just weeks after the last remnants of the four hydroelectric dams that used to clog the lower Klamath River were hauled away, concluding what was the […]
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California Salmon Fishing Banned for Second Year in Row
In a devastating blow to California’s fishing industry, federal fishery managers unanimously voted to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row. The April 10 decision is designed to protect California’s dwindling salmon populations after drought and water diversions left river flows too warm […]
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Saving Salmon: Newsom Unveils Blueprint for Ending Decades-long Decline
With salmon populations throughout California declining for decades and facing the threat of extinction, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday unveiled a state strategy aimed at protecting and restoring the iconic species “amidst hotter and drier weather exacerbated by climate change.” The blueprint calls for tearing down dams and improving passages for migrating salmon, restoring flows […]
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With a ‘Heavy Heart,’ Yurok Tribe Says Klamath Salmon Festival Will Go On Without Its Namesake
The Yurok Tribe, with a “heavy heart,” has announced that the namesake of the annual Klamath Salmon Festival will not be served at this year’s Aug. 19 event due to record low runs that also led to the closure of the California fishery. Now in its 59th year, the festival will include cultural and basket-weaving […]
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No California Salmon: Fishery to be Shut Down This Year
Most summer mornings at first light, Jared Davis is a few miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, motoring his charter fishing boat Salty Lady over the Pacific Ocean. His eyes sweep the horizon, looking for diving birds, but mostly he watches the screen of his dashboard fish-finder for schools of anchovies — a sure […]
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Saving Salmon: Chinook Return to California’s Far North — With a Lot of Human Help
Chinook salmon haven’t spawned in the McCloud River for more than 80 years. But last summer, thousands of juveniles were born in the waters of this remote tributary, miles upstream of Shasta Dam. The young Chinook salmon — some now finger-sized smolts in mid-migration toward the Pacific Ocean — are part of a state and […]
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Ranchers Who Tapped Shasta River Face $4,000 Proposed Fine for Violating State Drought Order
California’s water officials plan to impose a $4,000 fine on Siskiyou County ranchers for violating orders to cut back their water use during a weeklong standoff last summer. State officials and the ranchers agree: A $4,000 fine isn’t much of a deterrent to prevent illegal water diversions during California’s droughts. The proposed fine would amount […]
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Karuk Tribe: McKinney Fire Slide Caused ‘Kill Zone’ in Klamath River, Suffocating Thousands of Fish
The Karuk Tribe continues to investigate the cause and breadth of a fish kill event in the Klamath River but believes a massive debris slide from the McKinney Fire turned a section of the Klamath to sludge, killing thousands of fish. Craig Tucker, a spokesperson for the tribe, said its believed the debris slide entered the […]
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Karuk Tribe: McKinney Fire Causing Klamath Fish Kill
The Karuk Tribe is reporting large numbers of dead fish on the Klamath River in the vicinity of Happy Camp, which it’s attributing to impacts from the McKinney Fire, which has spread to nearly 60,000 acres in Siskiyou County. According to the tribe, “very large” number of dead fish of all species are being observed. “Preliminary […]
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Recreational Salmon Season to Open May 1, State Announces
After a brief pandemic-triggered delay, opening dates have been set for the local recreational salmon fishing season, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Waters south of Horse Mountain will open to sport anglers May 1, with the season slated to run through Nov. 8, with a minimum size limit of 20 inches […]
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Huffman Applauds Allocation of $29 Million in Fisheries Disaster Relief Funds
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman announced today that the federal government has allocated $25.8 million in disaster assistance to those affected by the 2015-2016 closure of California’s commercial Dungeness and rock crab fisheries and another $3.9 million to the Yurok Tribe stemming from the collapse of the fall Chinook fishery in 2016. “For far too […]