Coastal salmon fishing all but banned for year

Alex Breitler
The Stockton Record
04/11/2008

SEATTLE - Fishery managers on Thursday all but shut down salmon fishing in the ocean for 2008, a move that will likely trigger restrictions for sport fishermen in California rivers and streams.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council banned fishing off the California and Oregon coasts, with the exception of a very limited recreational catch.

The new restrictions on West Coast salmon fishing were said to be the toughest in history.

And it's all due to the decline of Sacramento River salmon. The number of fish returning to the Central Valley to spawn last fall was little better than one-third of 2006. The fish have declined for several years.

"Obviously, it's a concern," said Cliff Rich, president of the Stockton chapter of the California Striped Bass Association. While focused primarily on bass, some members also fish for salmon.

"I think our group believes that if there's an issue with the fish, no matter what it is, it's probably beneficial to close (fishing) until they recover," Rich said. "At least protect what's left."

Herman Spalinger of Stockton, representing the 120-member Delta Fly Fishers club, said a one-year closure may not be enough.

"We're hoping the devil that this closure will be more than maybe a year or two to get the salmon going again," he said.

The California Fish and Game Commission will decide in coming weeks whether any inland salmon fishing is permitted. A spokeswoman said the commission has been waiting for the council to act first.

Federal officials have said they believe poor ocean conditions are behind the salmon crash. Conservationists and some fishermen say those experts should turn their attention inland, toward the giant pumps that suck water out of the Delta for two-thirds of California.

In an analysis written last week, Peter Moyle, a University of California, Davis, professor and expert on native fish, said salmon have been declining for more than a century thanks to mining, logging, levees, dams and unregulated fishing.

Most recently, less food has been available in the ocean, perhaps causing salmon to "starve away." However, Moyle, too, points to the Delta as a long-term cause for decline.

The pumps trap fish and change the temperature and water flows in the estuary. Near Stockton, the San Joaquin River is too warm and polluted to support many salmon, and federal funds to restore the river have not materialized, Moyle wrote.

"Blaming 'ocean conditions' for salmon declines is a lot like blaming the iceberg for sinking the Titanic, while ignoring the many human errors that put the ship on course for the fatal collision," Moyle wrote.

The fishery council has been meeting all week in Seattle to decide a course of action. The council has said that even with a complete fishing closure, the number of salmon returning to spawn in 2008 may not be much higher than last year.

That would not only damage the $38.9 million salmon fishing industry, but it could also drive up the price of wild salmon at stores or restaurants.

Cutting back fishing is the only thing that can be done in the short term, council Executive Director Don McIsaac said.

"For now, unfortunately, those involved in the salmon fisheries are paying the price," he said.