California’s Chinook salmon population has been in a state of decline for years, and now, a salmon fishing ban has been announced for the state of California. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) warned earlier this year that salmon populations in the state have reached dangerously low levels. This is due to a combination of factors, including climate change, drought, and water diversions such as dams.
The iconic fish has been a cornerstone of California's economy and environment for decades. However, their numbers have been dwindling for years due to a combination of factors, including habitat loss, pollution, and overfishing. In response, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has implemented a ban on commercial salmon fishing in the hopes of giving the fish population a chance to recover. Hopefully, the ban will be temporary; its duration will depend on the success of efforts to restore salmon populations.
Earlier this year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said that “very little or no [salmon] fishing in 2023 appears possible.” Now, they have announced that the 2023 ban, only the second ban on California salmon fishing in history, will continue for the entirety of the 2023 season and possibly into 2024 if necessary.
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Salmon spawn in freshwater rivers and then travel to the ocean to feed and grow. These ocean fisheries are where some members of the salmon population are caught by fishing vessels. When they are mature, they return to their freshwater hatchery to mate.
To regulate the salmon fishing industry, wildlife officials measure the number of salmon that return to the river to spawn each year. This number is called the “escapement” because it represents the number of salmon that have escaped being caught by fishermen in the ocean to successfully return to the hatchery.
Salmon only return to the hatchery from the ocean when they are around three years old. This means that any given year’s salmon escapement value reflects the state of the environment in the three years prior. Successful salmon breeding relies on abundance of water in freshwater ecosystems. The salmon returning to breed this year were born in 2020, during the worst of the California drought.
The impact is apparent. The Chinook salmon population has recorded the lowest escapement since 2008, which is the last time the salmon fishing season was cancelled. Officials expected nearly 200,000 salmon to return to the Sacramento River to breed, but, during the escapement survey, only 60,000 individuals were recorded.
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Environmental groups and scientists have welcomed the ban, arguing that it is necessary to protect the salmon population. However, some commercial fishermen have expressed concern about the economic impact of such a ban, as salmon fishing is a significant source of income for many fishermen in the state. Some have wondered whether their businesses will survive the ban at all.
The Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA) works to restore and protect salmon populations in the California ecosystem, while serving as an advocate for the greater California salmon community, including fishermen, tribal members, charter boat outfits, river guides, restaurants, and more. They aim to address the ongoing problem of diminishing salmon populations.
John McManus, president of the GGSA, blames federal and state water policy for the reduction in salmon escapement. According to McManus, water diversion for agriculture, especially for water-intensive crops like almonds and pistachios, contributes to the drought conditions in the streams that salmon rely on. In California, 80% of water is diverted toward agricultural activities. The salmon industry has long struggled with the state government’s allocation of water. Currently, there are at least two pending court cases regarding water allocation disputes between the GGSA and the state and federal governments.
According to the GGSA, the salmon industry brings $1.4 billion of economic activity and 23,000 jobs to California. A ban or significant restriction of salmon fishing could impact the economy, the availability of the nutrient rich fish in grocery stores, and the lives and stability of the fishermen. This ban will also impact charter fishing vessel businesses and fishing gear stores. At one outdoor goods store in Cotati, salmon fishing purchases make up 40% of sales.
According to Dick Ogg, veteran fisherman and vice president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, many Northern California fishermen rely exclusively on Dungeness crab and Chinook salmon fishing to make their living. During the past winter, the crab fishing season was delayed numerous times due to the migration of humpback whales through the area, causing the crab industry to miss the financially critical holiday season. When protected humpbacks travel through crab fishing operations, they often get tangled in fishing line, which is very dangerous for the whales. These entanglements have been shown to be fatal 75% of the time. Thus, when humpbacks are present off the California coast, crab fishing is banned. Coupled with the ongoing financial consequences of the recent delayed crab season, a ban on salmon fishing may be a devastating intervention for small fishermen, necessary as it may be.
The fear of financial instability experienced by many members of the salmon community may be justified. After the last salmon fishing ban in 2008, studies showed that the California economy suffered losses between $500 million to $2 billion, as well as the loss of between 5,000-23,000 jobs.
The impacts of a poor salmon run go beyond effects for humans. As a keystone species, salmon play a crucial role in California's ecosystem. They provide food for a wide range of animals, including bears, eagles, and orcas, and their presence is essential for maintaining the health of the state's rivers and forests.
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Efforts to restore the Chinook salmon population in California have been ongoing for years. However, these efforts have been hampered by the drought, which makes it difficult for the fish to migrate upstream to spawn due to lower water levels in the stream and river systems. Because of the impact of ocean fishing and dam construction in the early 1900s, poor water availability conditions have a much larger impact on salmon availability than they might have. This is because overfishing eliminated the oldest and largest fish, leaving the remaining populations more susceptible to short term climatic impacts. Dam construction restricts salmon movement to the hottest part of the watershed, which reduces their survival and reproduction rates.
The state has invested millions of dollars in restoration projects, including the construction of fish ladders and the impending removal of four dams in the Klamath River. The first of these dams is set to be demolished this July.
Another significant effort to improve salmon population numbers and ameliorate the impact of drought is the trucking of juvenile salmon to the ocean. Salmon trucking is the practice of taking salmon spawned in Central Valley hatcheries and transporting them, via truck, to downstream release sites. This practice allows the salmon to spawn where there is water and then be transported to the ocean to mature, even when drought has made swimming to the ocean impossible.
This initiative by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is not a novel idea – it has been practiced since the 80s. However, since its initiation in 2021, this salmon trucking project increased the number of salmon transported from the Central Valley to the ocean by 20% or nearly 17 million young salmon. These fish are brought to release sites in Monterey, Half Moon, and San Francisco Bays.
Other efforts are being made to improve the situation for Chinook salmon in California. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has launched and funded a number of other initiatives aimed at restoring salmon habitat and increasing salmon population, including habitat restoration projects, water conservation efforts, and hatchery programs.
The future is not entirely bleak. The recent atmospheric river storm events in California have introduced lots of fresh water into the river systems. This, coupled with the fishing ban and impending dam removals, may help the salmon population return in fuller force in the next three years.
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The fishing ban serves as a significant step in protecting the Chinook salmon population in California and a reminder of the urgent need to protect California’s natural resources, especially vulnerable species like the Chinook salmon. By prohibiting fishing, the state hopes to give the fish population a chance to recover from the impacts of drought and damming. While the ban will undoubtedly have an economic impact on the state's fishing industry, the long-term benefits of protecting the Chinook salmon are significant. However, more still needs to be done to ensure the survival of this iconic species.
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Rachel D’Agui is a master’s student in Earth Systems at Stanford University, where she is also a conservation technician and frog researcher. She was raised in Monterey and Salinas and is a passionate admirer of California wildlife. She writes about the beautiful miracle of life on earth and personal connection with nature.
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