SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION
Hitches for All Vehicles
SPOTLIGHT ON CONSERVATION
VOL. 36 • ISS. 07 MARCH 17- 31, 2017 23
SALMON FISHERY INFORMATION MEETING UNVEILS PROSPECTS FOR 2017 SEASON
Recreational and commercial fishermen attending the annual salmon fishery information meeting in Santa Rosa on March 1 received grim news from state and federal biologists— they will see reduced salmon fishing opportunities in both the ocean and the Sacramento and Klamath River systems, due to low returns of spawning fish to the rivers last fall.
The pre-season numbers unveiled by Michael O’ Farrell of the National Marine Fisheries Service estimate only 230,700 Sacramento River fall run Chinook adults and 54,200 Klamath River fall run adults will be in the ocean this year.
Biologists noted that both forecasts are lower than those of recent years, with the forecast for Klamath fall run being among the lowest on record. Salmon originating from these river systems typically comprise the majority of salmon caught in the state’ s ocean and inland fisheries. Ocean regulatory management for salmon fisheries on the ocean from Cape Falcon in Oregon to the Mexico-U. S. border is heavily based on these runs.
Mr. O’ Farrell said the Sacramento Index( SI), 230,700 salmon is based on a 2016 jack( two-year-old) escapement of 15,056 fish.
This abundance forecast is reduced from 2016. It is based on targeting an escapement of at least 122,000 fish, a 47 percent escapement rate, he disclosed.
“ If the 2016 regulations were in place, there would be a preliminary escapement prediction of 116,400 in 2017,” he said.“ This is unlikely to constrain 2017 fisheries, even though it’ s below the escapement of at least 122,000.”
Management for the winter-run Chinook salmon, an endangered species, will impact the Sacramento River ocean salmon fishery.
This fish was once extremely abundant, with a run of 117,000 fish estimated in 1969. By 1992, the run had declined to less than 200 fish due to water exports to agribusiness and southern California water agencies and poor management by the state and federal water and fishery agencies.
“ The maximum allowable age 3 impact rate is 15.8 percent,” he said.“ With the 2016 regulations in place, there is a preliminary prediction of 11.6 percent.”
“ The Council took the precautionary approach in 2016,” Mr. O’ Farrell said.“ The winter run is likely to constrain 2017 fisheries south of Point Arena to some degrees, as it did last year.”
In 2016, a total of 104,229 combined hatchery and natural fall Chinook salmon returned to the Sacramento River to spawn. This number includes 18,685( 18 percent) from the Upper Sacramento River, 61,671
Gift Cards Available!
John McManus, the Executive Director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association( GGSA), asks a question at the CDFW salmon fishery information meeting in Santa Rosa on March 1.
Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.
( 59 percent) from the Feather River and 23,873( 29 percent) from the American River, according to Vanessa Gusman, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The spawning escapement numbers of other Sacramento Chinook stocks were down also. A total of 4,637 late fall adults and 973 jacks, 924 winter adults and 622 jacks, and 7,689 spring adults and 54 jacks returned to the system in 2016.
The Klamath River abundance estimates are even bleaker. The return of only 8,615 three-year-old fall-run Chinook salmon between the Klamath and its largest tributary, the Trinity, was the lowest in 38 years, resulting in drastic cuts in the recreational river fishery and Tribal fishery last year.
The Yurok Tribe last year opted to cancel the commercial fishing season that many tribal members depend on for income, due to the low numbers of fish. The outlook for this season’ s river fisheries is even worse.
Based on age-two returns of 2,786 fish, the estimated age-three forecast is only 42,026 salmon. The forecast for age-four is 1,558 and age-five is 1,662.
In 2017, the potential spawner abundance forecast is 12,383. The management must target an escapement of at least 11,379( 8.1 percent harvest rate). This means that regardless if there is no fishing at all on the Klamath this season, the run wouldn’ t meet the adult fall Chinook natural conservation threshold of 30,909 fish nor the maximum sustainable yield( MSY) of 43,000 spawners.
With the 2016 regulations, the tribal harvest would be 50 percent of the total harvest, as it has been for decades, and river recreational allocation would be 15 percent of the non-tribal harvest. The natural area adult spawners prediction would be only 9,397 fish with a harvest rate of 24.1
Hitches for All Vehicles
By Dan Bacher percent.“ The Klamath fall run will heavily constrain 2017 fisheries south of Cape Falcon, Oregon,” summed up Mr. O’ Farrell. He noted that the Klamath would restrain the fishery progressively less and less as you work your way up and down the coast from the Klamath Management Zone, the area on the ocean centered around the mouth of the Klamath River.
“ With a poor forecast for Klamath fall run and continued concerns over the winter run, California anglers will see reduced Chinook fishing opportunity as compared to last year,” summed up Brett Kormos, a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who moderated the meeting.
A news release from CDFW noted that Chinook that will be harvested in ocean fisheries in 2017 hatched two to four years ago, and“ were deeply affected by poor river conditions driven by California’ s recent drought.”
“ CDFW and federal fish agency partners have expended millions of dollars on measures to minimize the impacts of the drought. These efforts have included trucking the majority of hatchery salmon smolts to acclimation pens in the lower Delta, improving hatchery infrastructure to keep juvenile fish alive under poor water quality conditions and partnering with sport and commercial fishermen to increase smolt survival,” CDFW said.
“ Though all of these efforts helped, other environmental factors— such as unusually warm water conditions in the ocean— were beyond human control,” according to the agency.
Some fishery group representatives disagreed, pointing out the failure of management by the state and federal agencies.
“ The fishery is in a desperate place and should be treated as such,” said Noah Oppenheim, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’ s
Associations.“ The situation is clearly the result of poor water management inland by the people representing the state and federal agencies.
“ There are plenty of hard working fishermen and women who are going to see yet another disastrous season,” he continued.“ Fishermen can only take so much before we have to demand real change and not just platitudes from the water users. Salmon are the original water users and it’ s high time that West Coast water policy takes them into account,” he emphasized.
Commercial and recreational fishermen made recommendations on the seasons, as they normally do at the meeting every year.
“ We need to keep the minimum length at 24 inches— one of the drawbacks to going up to 26 inches is that you see increased fish mortality,” said Roger Thomas, skipper of the Salty Lady sportfishing boat, and board chairman of the Golden Gate Salmon Association.
After the meeting, Rick Powers, owner of the Bodega Bay Sportfishing Center, said,“ There are definitely some serious problems with the fishery. I’ m hoping that feds will craft a season that will give everybody an opportunity.”
Dick Pool, administrator of water4fish. org, emphasized,“ 2016 was a record low year for many salmon runs and fish harvest. It is urgent that the fish and water agencies accelerate the activity dealing with water flow, habitat and predation in order to begin to turn the situation around.”
The 2017 forecasts, in addition to information on endangered Sacramento River winter Chinook, will be used over the next two months by state and fishery managers to set recreational and commercial fishing season dates, commercial quotas, and size and bag limits
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and California Fish and Game Commission Season dates and other regulations will be developed over the next two months. For more information on the salmon season setting process or general ocean salmon fishing information, visit the Ocean Salmon Project website at: wildlife. ca. gov / fishing / ocean / percent20regulations / salmon or call the salmon fishing hotline at( 707) 576-3429.
California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc.- Project Kokanee presents the:
7th ANNUAL COLLINS LAKE TEAM TROUT FUN FISHING DERBY
Team & Youth Divisions
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Your Hometown Truck Accessory Specialist
11844 Atwood Rd • Auburn