Increased fishing opportunities for trollers
Posted Wednesday March 14, 2007 --------- If the salmon cooperate, this year’s commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons promise bountiful returns.
Last week the Pacific Fishery Management Council met and proposed three options for the commercial trollers. All of the options greatly increased the number of fishing days for fishermen from Washington to Southern California. The season off the Sonoma Coast will be include fishing in May, July, August and September. Last year’s calamitous season was closed except for a few weeks in late July and August. Skippers were also limited to 75 fish per boat per week. With the exception of a big “bite” in late July the boat limit wasn’t met.
State and federal authorities declared last year's season a disaster. Many fishermen were unable to earn the costs of operating a commercial fishing boat.
This year's season is expected to be the opposite, with plentiful fish off most of California due to surprisingly stronger runs in the Klamath River. That river’s health determines how many fish can be caught in the ocean north and south of its mouth, because of its imperiled runs of fall Chinook salmon.
Last year fishery science experts expected small returns of fish to the Klamath because of huge fish kills three years earlier. They expected a large number of Sacramento River fish to be available for fishermen but that never materialized. This year biologists were surprised by the number of 2-year-old "jacks" in the Klamath. With the reduction of the numbers of Klamath River fish caught last year the system should now produce the hundreds of thousands of 3-year-old fish to allow a full fishing season.
The Klamath fishery determines the fishing seasons for most of the Pacific Coast. Protecting those fish means limiting the fish harvest in the Ocean as well as limiting the in-river catch.
The rosy (or as rosy as could be) predictions will still have problems for fishermen. The fish landed must be at least 27 inches. No one is sure how big the numerous 3-year olds are.
In past years fishermen were allowed to catch fish larger than 26 inches. The move to 27 (or 28 in some areas) inch fish will, according to the fishery biologists, take the fishing pressure off the younger fish. This may allow for a greater return of fish to the river systems. In trade the number of fishing days increased.
Dave Yarger, President of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association, said, “I don’t like it [this season], but it gives us a chance to make a buck.”
Last year’s prediction of a plentiful supply of Sacramento River fish never came true. Those fish have not returned back upriver this fall. Those several million fish are missing. Commercial fishermen speculate that they are offshore since they are still too young to spawn. It is possible they could be coming back this season.
The recreational season options are also more generous than last year’s. Off the Sonoma Coast the sport season opens April 7 and runs through November 11. The limit is two fish per day with a minimum size of 20 inches. Native American fishery options were also increased due to the expected larger number of fish.
The council (PFMC) met in Sacramento all last week to begin setting fishing limits off Oregon, Washington and California for 2007. The commercial and recreational salmon seasons for each three options on the catch have been developed and now are out for public comment.
When the council reconvenes in April, final decisions will be made on who can fish where and when.
See the PFMC’s recommendation in detail: http://www.pcouncil.org/salmon/salcurr.html#2007
Better prospects for salmon season
by Joel Hack ---- Posted Tuesday Feb. 27, 2007 -------- Biologists predictions of the possible salmon harvest are up and so are the hopes of salmon fishermen.
Last year’s season was a disaster. Dave Yarger, President of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association said, “I wouldn’t have survived if I didn’t get disaster loans from the feds. There was no way I could keep making the boat slip rent and all the other payments.”
Allen Grover, Associate Marine Biologist at California Department of Fish and Game prepared salmon data and model season predictions. This data and the model seasons will form the basis for setting the fishing season. The season is set by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the California DFG. The Fish and Game Commission will meet in Arcata March 1 & 2. The PFMC will meet in Sacramento March 5-9.
The salmon abundance forecast predicts a plentiful supply of three-year old fish. Not since 1987 has the projection been this plentiful. Though the projected abundance of four-year old fish is lower than last year’s very low level, the number of three-year olds should allow a longer season.
Last year’s season was a disaster for commercial fishermen. The season was severely shortened by forecasts of minimal numbers of fish returning to the Klamath River. Last year’s two-year old fish were plentiful in the Klamath. Those two-year olds are now three. Last year’s season in addition to being shortened and limited, did not have the projected abundance of salmon from the Sacramento River. That prediction was wildly off. The biologists, fishermen and the water management community have no explanation. Returns to the fish hatcheries and rivers of the Central Valley are very much lower than the past five years. For example, returns to the DFG’s Feather River Fish Hatchery and Coleman National Fish Hatchery to date far less than last year’s runs.
The Klamath River salmon runs essentially determine California and Oregon Ocean fishing seasons. The Klamath Basin has traditionally been one of the more productive salmon river systems on the West Coast but problems make it an obstacle course for the remaining fish. The river has six major dams and major irrigation users. Sedimentation from logging, road construction and agriculture destroyed the salmon runs. Combined with low flows the river does not support the numbers of salmon it once did. Disease and low water flows led to a major fish kill of 34,000 spawners in 2002. The increased numbers of three-year old fish predicted this year is a direct result of the river system responding well after the fish kills. See a video of the fish kill here www.youtube.com/v/WaHwESoaRAw. Read how the number of fish killed was much higher than first thought here: www.klamathforestalliance.org/Newsarticles/newsarticle20040731.html
The PFMC uses complex system to process how much each of the users of the salmon run can take. Biologists have determined a “floor” level of the numbers of fish that return to the Klamath each season. The floor level is the minimum number of natural spawning chinook needed to spawn the next generation of fish. If there the prediction is for a greater number of fish returning the “excess” or abundance is the amount that can be harvested. Last year the floor of 35,000 fish was not met, rather only 30,000 swam upstream. Only 21, 000 were expected. This year 73,000 natural spawners plus 63,000 hatchery fish are predicted to swim upriver.
Klamath river fish mix with Central Valley river fish in the ocean. The ocean take of salmon predicts a certain number of Klamath fish will be caught in each area of the coast. If too many are taken, the floor is not met. Fishing efforts are then limited to preserve the floor.
The excess fish are divided up among the Native American tribal fisheries, the commercial fishermen, the ocean sport fishery, and the river sport fishery.
Healthly numbers of Central Valley rivers and Oregon rivers fish also play a part in determine the fishing season. Read an article about the shortfall in Central Valley Rivers here www.dissidentvoice.org/Dec06/Bacher14.htm
Yarger was optimistic about the upcoming season, “It looks like we will only lose one month. We should have between 30 and 40 days of fishing. And if there are as many fish as they say there are we should do OK.”
