Central Valley chinook salmon collapse will affect Oregon and Washington, too

From the Daily Astorian:

With an all-time low predicted for California’s Sacramento River fall chinook, Oregon and Washington salmon fishermen have been put on notice. Protecting the California stock will likely wreak havoc on the salmon seasons off Oregon’s coast south of Cape Falcon (near Manzanita), and could also result in cutbacks to fishing on the North Coast and in Washington.

According to recent reports, even if all ocean and freshwater salmon fisheries are closed, the expected returns of Sacramento chinook would still be on the low end of what’s needed to ensure spawning goals. “This is very bad news for West Coast salmon fisheries,” said Pacific Council Chairman Don Hansen. “The word ‘disaster’ comes immediately to mind, and I mean a disaster much worse than the Klamath fishery disaster of 2006.”

The Oregon Salmon Industry Group meets Thursday in Newport to review forecasts and develop a slate of preferred options for the 2008 sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries. The group’s recommendations will be passed on to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the regulatory body that sets the seasons.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council will begin the process of setting 2008 ocean salmon seasons at its meeting Sunday through Friday, March 14, in Sacramento, Calif., where it will develop up to three options for public review. Public hearings on the options are scheduled for March 31 in Westport, Wash. and Coos Bay and for April 1 in Eureka, Calif. Final action on the 2008 ocean salmon seasons is scheduled for the PFMC April 7-12 meeting in Seattle.

To read the full text of this article from the Daily Astorian, click here.

Comments

Admin

• Log in

Credits

Powered by Vertigo & WordPress
WordPress Themes by Brian Gardner