California’s ocean salmon fishing season closed for second year in a row

California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon fishing season is set to be closed for the second consecutive year, another blow to the state’s beleaguered industry suffering from the combined fallout of drought, climate disruption and deteriorating ocean conditions.

Already, a new request is underway for yet another federal disaster declaration to help alleviate some of the wide economic damage from the closure, affecting not just the fleet but many associated businesses that depend on the fishery, one of the state’s most lucrative.

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which manages and monitors West Coast salmon stocks in the ocean, endorsed the option on Wednesday of a full closure through the end of the year, mirroring recommendations made to close the fisheries in 2023.

Many fishermen, already resigned to a severely limited season if any at all due to depleted stocks, had backed the full closure.

“For nine months now, we’ll probably be without income. When you look at overall impact, it’s significant. Do we want the closure? Obviously, no. Is it necessary? Yes,” said Dick Ogg, a Bodega Bay commercial fisherman and president of the Bodega Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Association.

California has already spent $800 million over the past few years to protect and restore salmon populations in an attempt to ward off the effects of climate change and drought, Gov. Gavin Newsom pointed out in a joint statement with Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

California’s salmon industry disaster request - April 11, 2024

The federal government has allocated $20.6 million following last year’s disaster declaration to restore the salmon populations, which in addition to its economic value also carries great cultural importance to West Coast fishing tribes.

Ogg said he will continue to fish for albacore and rockfish, the latter of which is under sharp new restrictions.

One of California’s other staple fisheries, the Dungeness crab season, also has been curtailed in recent years under a new framework meant to protect imperiled marine species, including whales, from entanglement in fishing gear.

“This will have a substantial impact on everybody,” Ogg said Thursday morning of the closure. He was on his way to a morning news conference in San Francisco put on by the Golden Gate Salmon Association regarding the closure.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife values the salmon industry at about $900 million. The Golden Gate Salmon Association says in a normal season it accounts for 23,000 jobs and about $1.4 billion in economic activity.

The trickle-down effect extends beyond commercial and recreational anglers.

Mike Weinberg-Lynn, who owns Osprey Seafood, estimated a 10% drop in sales at his Napa and San Francisco locations. But like Ogg, he agreed the recommendation to hold out fishing for another year is for the greater good of the industry.

“We’ll just be selling other things. Halibut will probably be doing well. There are other options,” he said.

Since last year, counts of salmon swimming in the ocean improved by an estimated 20%, California Fish and Wildlife spokesman Steve Gonzales said Thursday morning.

But they are still down from years preceding the latest drought, which ended in 2022. The four- to five-year life cycle of salmon, which are born in freshwater and migrate to the sea before returning to reproduce in their natal waters, can mean the effects of drought and other disruptions drag on for years.

Habitat loss from development and dams and the diversion of water for human uses has decimated the West Coast’s wild salmon runs.

Closure of the commercial ocean fishing season still requires formal action by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is expected in mid-May.

Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, called the closure a “crushing blow” for the state.

“We must do better. On disaster relief, the state must speed up the process for quantifying impacts, and the federal government must approve disaster funds faster and at higher levels,” he said in a statement.

The California Fish and Game Commission, which governs recreational and inland river fishing, will consider whether to adopt a closure of river salmon fishing at its May 15 meeting.

The salmon returning to California’s coast and rivers were impacted by a multiyear drought, severe wildfires and associated effects on spawning and rearing habitat, harmful algal blooms and ocean forage shifts, according to state fish and wildlife officials.

“After the closure last year, this decision is not an easy one to make,” said state Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham. “While we have been enjoying back-to-back rainy and wet winters this year and last, the salmon that will benefit from these conditions aren’t expected to return to California until around 2026 or 2027. The current salmon for this year’s season were impacted by the difficult environmental factors present three to five years ago.”

Fishermen were bracing this winter for a full closure even as they absorbed another blow from a shortened Dungeness crab season.

“While incredibly painful to fishing families and fishing communities, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations supports the closure,” said George Bradshaw, a commercial fisherman and president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. The organization is the largest commercial fishing trade group on the West Coast, managing 15 port fishing associations.

“We all need to be doing everything we can to give California’s salmon a chance to recover. It has to be an all-hands-on deck effort to ensure survival for our Central Valley and Klamath salmon runs,” he said in a statement.

Lisa Damrosch, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said the collapse of West Coast salmon runs is both professional and personal.

Five generations of her family have fished the waters off Half Moon Bay for more than 100 years.

“The last thing we want to do is contribute to an ongoing problem. Sure, it’s devastating. No one wants a closed season. It’s a disaster. It’s also devastating for California consumers to not be able to eat wild salmon and have to eat salmon that’s farmed. But we also have to look at the big picture,” she said.

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, transportation, agriculture as well as banking and finance. She can be reached at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com