Commercial salmon season to be reduced — maybe by half

The California commercial salmon season, due to start May 1, will be only about half as long as last year’s season, after the Pacific Fisheries Management Council settled on three proposals for the dates and months fishing can take place this season.

“Time on the water is cut this year in an effort to have more salmon return to the rivers to spawn to meet our management objectives,” Kandice Morgenstern, environmental scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said after the council’s decision Thursday.

The main reason for the shorter season is the smaller number of adult Sacramento River salmon expected to be in the ocean this spring and summer. While commercial fishing boats were permitted to go out for 167 days total last year, the three proposals for the 2021 season would only allow fishing for a total of 78 days, 94 days or 104 days. After the public has a chance to provide feedback on the proposals, the council will announce its final decision in April.

From Point Arena (Mendocino County) to the San Francisco region, commercial fishing will be allowed from either May or June until August or September, mostly for a week or several weeks at a time. For the region south of Pigeon Point (San Mateo County), fishing will start in May and end in June or as late as August.

The recreational salmon fishery will also be shorter this year. It usually opens in April or early May but will start in June or July except in the Monterey area, where it will open April 3.

Every year, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council meets to determine the timing of salmon seasons in Washington, Oregon and California. Though the California commercial salmon season usually runs from May to October, fishing is allowed in certain areas at certain times to protect the population of coastal king salmon, a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, as it makes its way back to the Sacramento River to spawn.

This year, the number of adult salmon on the coast is projected to add up to 271,000 fish, compared with last year’s estimate of 473,200. That’s because the conditions when last year’s population made its way down the Sacramento River to the ocean were better than they were for this year’s generation.

Many fishermen and women expressed frustration that the council used new models that led to what they see as overly conservative options for fishing this year.

“I’m not real happy,” said Duncan MacLean, former president of the Half Moon Bay Fishermen’s Association, who at 71 depends on his income from salmon fishing. “A lot of guys won’t gear up this year. They’ll probably stick to their day jobs,” said MacLean, a former adviser to the council.

Dick Ogg, who fishes for salmon out of Bodega Bay, said the limited salmon season will be difficult for the local fishing fleet because of this season’s poor crab season, but he said he tries to keep a positive outlook.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and catch a few or maybe we won’t,” said Ogg. “The only way you’re going to know is if you put your gear in your water and try as hard as you can.”