Klamath River Fall Chinook Numbers Forecast Is Lower Than Last Year Likely Forcing Protective Measures, Says CDFW
Salmon [Photo from CDFW]
At the annual Ocean Salmon Informational Meeting held in Santa Rosa [yesterday], state and federal fishery scientists presented updates on the numbers of California’s spawning salmon, as well as the expected abundance for the upcoming fishing season. The 2020 ocean abundance projection for Sacramento River fall Chinook (SRFC), a main salmon stock harvested in California waters, is estimated at 473,200 adult salmon, higher than the 2019 forecasts. The Klamath River fall Chinook (KRFC) abundance forecast of 186,600 adult salmon is lower than the 2019 forecast and will likely result in reduced fishing opportunity in the areas north of Pt. Arena.
“The outlook for Sacramento River fall Chinook is better than last year, but this season’s fisheries will be tempered by protections needed to conserve low numbers of Klamath River fall Chinook,” said Jennifer Simon, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ocean Salmon Project.
Recreational anglers and commercial salmon trollers at the meeting provided comments and voiced concerns to a panel of fishery managers, scientists and industry representatives. Stakeholder input will be taken into consideration when developing three alternatives for this season during the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting, which will be held March 3-9 in Rohnert Park. Final regulations will be adopted at the April 4-10 PFMC meeting in Vancouver, Washington.
The PFMC may take a conservative approach when crafting 2020 ocean salmon seasons since both SRFC and KRFC stocks are still considered to be overfished under the terms of the federal Salmon Fishery Management Plan.
For more information on the salmon season setting process or general ocean salmon fishing information, please visit the Ocean Salmon Project website or call the ocean salmon hotline at (707) 576-3429.
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It’s time to close the rivers to all fishing for at least 10 years
And for god’s sake confiscate every Gill net in Northern California
I agree with you North west. Plus all the small streams, as well as the main rivers need to be cleared of all debris that is hindering the fish from traveling to their spawning grounds. The rivers need to be cleared of all non-native fish species that dine on the fingerlings. I am afraid it is NOW or NEVER!
That’s interesting because there were ny a lot of fish caught in the nets. Had to go pole fishing to have any to can! These days we all have quotas in ocean and river based on available fish for harvest. It’s good to know facts it doesn’t help to point fingers. We are all in this together!
The bulk of fisheries funds and hatchery programs are for the Sacramento. The north coast streams are neglected and fishing restricted more here because of politics. We need to be a separate state. A significant river like the eel gets little help. No hatchery, no squawfish eradication program and water diversion to the Russian river still allowed. Water also diverted from the trinity to the sacramento. There is no chance for our powerless area.
Susan and Jeffer You’re both right and we are all concerned with the river. ( Trinity) is mine
It’s time to give the fish a break and more of their river to swim in
Maybe if they’d taken had a hatchery on every river shit might be a little bit different . And as far as taking all the gillnets from the natives. That’s are rights maybe you should try a different angle . (Hweee).
It’s geoengineering. Geoengineeringwatch.org
Your absolutely right my brother. It’s all the crap they’re spraying.
I wish it wasn’t true, but having fished the Klamath River for Fall run King salmon for 58 years, I have noticed a decline that started with the tribal in river commercial fisheries. I don’t have enough information to assess the reason for this decline other than it seems to correspond with the in river commercial fisheries, which nearly killed the runs many decades ago, when there were canneries at the mouth of the river.