{"id":414712,"date":"2024-03-11T13:23:55","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T20:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=414712"},"modified":"2024-03-11T14:58:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T21:58:01","slug":"california-salmon-restrictions-ban-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/environment\/water\/2024\/03\/california-salmon-restrictions-ban-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Simply catastrophic’: California salmon season to be restricted or shut down \u2014 again"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\n\t\t
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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Chinook counts are less dire than last year, but fishery managers are still opting to heavily reduce or ban commercial and recreational fishing this year because \u201ccaution is warranted.\u201d The salmon industry is devastated.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

California\u2019s fishing industry is bracing for another bad year as federal managers today announced plans to heavily restrict or prohibit salmon fishing again, after cancelling the entire season last year<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pacific Fishery Management Council today released a series of options<\/a> that are under consideration, all of which either ban commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the ocean off California or shorten the season and set strict catch limits. The council\u2019s decision is expected next month; the commercial season typically begins in May and ends in October<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While more Chinook salmon returned from the ocean to spawn last year than in 2022, fishery managers said the population is expected to be so small that they must be protected this year to avoid overfishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall-run Chinook salmon are a mainstay of commercial and recreational fishing and tribal food supplies. But their populations are now a fraction of what they once were<\/a> \u2014 dams have blocked vital habitat, while droughts and water diversions have driven down flows and increased temperatures, killing large numbers of salmon eggs and young fish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan is a devastating blow for an industry still reeling from last year\u2019s closure. State officials estimate that last year\u2019s closure<\/a> cost about $45 million<\/a> \u2014 which the fishing industry says vastly underestimates the true toll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way to sugarcoat it, as it\u2019s simply catastrophic,\u201d said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association<\/a>, which represents the commercial and recreational fishing industry, other businesses, restaurants and environmentalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fishing industry and many thousands of salmon families and businesses eagerly waiting to get back to work are potentially facing another year in the harbor instead of putting food on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The options are likely to evolve as the Pacific Fishery Management Council continues to analyze them over the next month. Two call for significantly shortened seasons and harvest limits for both commercial and sportfishing off California this year. The third would cancel the season for the second year in a row. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn response to poor river and ocean conditions, California stocks are forecast to have 2024 abundance levels that are well below average,\u201d Marci Yaremko<\/a>, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife\u2019s appointee to the Pacific council, said today. \u201cThe options that have been developed that do authorize some fishing are very precautionary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvest limits and other restrictions on the number of fish caught per trip are new concepts for managing ocean salmon fisheries, Yaremko said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jared
Jared Davis stands aboard his charter fishing boat, the Salty Lady, in Richmond on March 8, 2023. The end of salmon season has left him struggling to make a living. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven the best option that they give us there is crumbs compared to a regular salmon season,\u201d said Jared Davis, captain of the Salty Lady, a charter fishing boat. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, of all the options, he said, he\u2019d prefer complete closure. The shortened seasons don\u2019t offer enough days to sustain his business and the potential repercussions aren\u2019t worth it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think fishing on low abundance such as we have this year is reckless and irresponsible,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s really playing with fire for us to take any fish out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Bates<\/a>, who owns a commercial fishing boat berthed at Fisherman\u2019s Wharf in San Francisco, called the decision \u201ctragic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at numbers of fish that don’t even make it worthwhile to untie the boat,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough fish to pay for the maintenance and preparation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A financial nightmare \u2014 some may never fish again<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

RJ Waldron, 48, put his sportsfishing boat, the Sundance, up for sale in January.<\/em> When the salmon season closed last year, an estimated 85% of his business dried up. Few clients took him up on his offer to switch to halibut, striped bass or rockfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buying the boat eight years ago to run a charter fishing business out of the East Bay had been a dream come true for Waldron, a long-time fishing and hunting guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBasically this last year, I’ve just been blowing through my cash, blowing through the savings, just trying to stay afloat,\u201d Waldron said. \u201cI put everything I had into this fishing business, into the salmon. And it’s totally out of my control. I can’t resurrect it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at numbers of fish that don’t even make it worthwhile to untie the boat. It\u2019s not enough fish to pay for the maintenance and preparation.\u201d <\/p>Sarah Bates, commercial fisherwoman in San Francisco<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s commercial fleet and recreational anglers still await federal disaster aid for last year\u2019s losses. The federal government allocated only $20.6 million in disaster funding<\/a>, and a year later, none of the salmon fishers CalMatters interviewed has received a check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waldron called the lack of disaster aid a \u201cbig slap in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davis said he tried to weather the storm by arranging trips for halibut, striped bass, rockfish and lingcod. Still, he estimates that his business was down 80% from a normal year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing the season restricted this year \u201cbreaks my heart,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s what I love, and it\u2019s a passion. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been doing my whole life, and I know that there\u2019s a lot of others in the industry that it\u2019s the same for.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jared
Fishing boats at a dry dock in Richmond on March 8, 2023. Many recreational and commercial salmon fishing ventures have shut down. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Salmon fishers fear the closure will drive yet more boats permanently from the fleet \u2014 already down to 464 vessels<\/a> in 2022 from nearly 5,000 in the early \u201880s<\/a>. Recreational salmon fishing trips plummeted from nearly 99,000 in 2022 to zero<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bates estimates that about half of the fleet took shore jobs. And some, she said, probably won’t return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people, I\u2019m sure, will not go fishing again,\u201d she said. \u201cThey got a job that will hold them through and their momentum will shift, and I\u2019m sure we\u2019re going to lose members of our fleet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make ends meet last year, Bates picked up bookkeeping work. But she doesn\u2019t know yet what she\u2019ll do this year. Bates\u2019 boat is called the Bounty, a cruel irony now. Still, she said the boat has seen bad seasons before \u2014 and it\u2019s bad luck to change a boat\u2019s name, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tommy \u201cTF\u201d Graham also will keep working on land. A commercial fisherman based in Bodega Bay, he got a Class A driver\u2019s license so he could drive a truck and stay afloat through the closures. Now, when he\u2019s not crab fishing, Graham wakes up at 3 a.m. to drive frozen and farmed salmon and other fish from around the world into San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA guy has got to get up and put his boots on and go to work every day,\u201d Graham said. Still, he said, \u201cI used to be a provider, now I\u2019m a consumer. It feels like shit, to tell you the truth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drought and water diversions kill salmon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s decision follows the release of population numbers<\/a> for Sacramento River fall-run Chinook<\/a>, which make up the greatest proportion of California and Oregon ocean salmon fisheries. Their numbers are down from an average of more than 200,000 fish that returned to spawn in the mid-2000s. And those numbers are a fraction of the historical counts<\/a> of between one and two million fall and spring-run salmon returning to the Central Valley every year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n