https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/california-cancels-salmon-fishing-season/

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Watch CBS News

Environment

California cancels salmon fishing season

sanfrancisco

By John Ramos

March 12, 2023 / 7:16 PM / CBS San Francisco

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California cancels salmon fishing season
California cancels salmon fishing season 03:35

SANTA ROSA -- Even with so much recent rain, California's drought is
still having a devastating impact on the salmon fishing industry. So
few fish have been found that the state has now issued a ban on
salmon fishing along the entire coast.  

Thanks to all the atmospheric river storms, rivers on land are
roaring but the effects of years of drought are only now being seen
on the salmon population. Last year, 196,000 adult fish were expected
to return to the Sacramento River to spawn but only 60,000 showed up.
 

"We also know that the number of young salmon in 2022 was a really
low number. That's the number they use to forecast the abundance of
adult salmon in the ocean this year," said John McManus, president of
the Golden State Salmon Association.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife has canceled the entire salmon
fishing season along the California coast.  It's only the second time
in history that has happened. The last time was in 2008-2009 after
another period of prolonged drought.

"Fishery managers have determined that there simply aren't enough
salmon in the ocean right now to comfortably get a return of adult
salmon to reproduce for 2023," McManus said.

While the salmon decline has been going on for years, the impact on
the industry is immediate. Jared Davis operates the "Salty Lady," a
charter boat for sport fishermen. His entire summer has been wiped
out.

"It's devastating," he said.  "This is more than just an income issue
for me. It's an inability to do what I love. So, on a financial level
and on a personal level, it's devastating."

It's not just the fishermen who will be hurting. At the Outdoor Pro
Shop in Cotati, about 40 percent of sales are for salmon fishing.
Vice president Tim Elie said the impact will be wide-ranging.

"Drastic changes, cutbacks. We won't be able to thrive. I have
20-plus employees. I've got to pay and pay a living wage. So, it's
cutbacks and ordering less and having less product available," he
said. "This affects people that sell bait, fuel, ice, boat dealers,
boat mechanics. It's far stretching, the impact that a closed salmon
season has."

For years, the salmon fishing industry has been locked in a political
struggle in the legislature and the courts over how much water is
being allocated to Central Valley farmers. An estimated 80 percent of
the state's water goes to agriculture, leaving cities and fisheries
to fight over what's left.

"The agricultural industry tends to get the lion's share of the water
while the fish and the fishing industry suffers and takes a back
seat," Davis said.

The fishermen said the drastically reduced salmon should be a wake-up
call.

They want more water to support the ecosystem as well as an increase
in the output at state fish hatcheries to bolster the population.
That could help the salmon rebound but, even under ideal conditions,
it would take a while for that to happen. Salmon take three years to
reach adulthood. State wildlife officials say the effects of this
year's ban on fishing won't be seen until 2025.

    In:
  * California Department of Fish and Wildlife

John Ramos
web-bio-head-john-ramos.jpg

John Ramos accidentally launched a lifelong career in journalism when
he began drawing editorial cartoons and writing smart-alecky satire
pieces for the Bakersfield High School newspaper.

First published on March 12, 2023 / 7:16 PM

(c) 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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