It’s been three years since fishing enthusiasts have been allowed to go after salmon. Local authorities have banned salmon fishing to give the dwindling schools of fish a chance to recover. That will all change on Saturday, however, when the ban will be lifted off the California coast. Depending on how many fish they bring back, fishing regulators with the state’s Department of Fish and Game and the Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet to consider the next step—lifting the ban on commercial fishing too, at least in a limited way.
“We’re hoping the population is on the rebound,” says biologist Joe Duran. All the evidence seems to indicate it is. While regulators counted on 2,000 young salmon, or jacks, on the Sacramento run in 2007, they found 9,000 there in 2009. Fisherman operating off the coast are also reporting that they are occasionally reeling in salmon accidentally as they search for halibut and tuna. The regulators will make their decision by April 15.
One thing fishermen are being warned about is to be watchful for other marine life, especially the sea otter. A report by The Otter Project shows that population to be in sharp decline along the California coast. While poor water quality is considered to be one of the main reasons for the declining population of this iconic sea mammal, at least two otters were killed by boat strikes in 2006, the last year of the salmon fishing season. As such, Defenders of Wildlife is asking fishermen to keep an eye out for the endangered mammal as they go hunting for the almost endangered fish.
Read More at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Read More at KSBW.
