Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3710 April 27- May 11 2018 | Page 29

VOL.37 • ISS. 10 O April 27 - May 11, 2018 29 Recreational Ocean and River Salmon Seasons Approved n April 10, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) approved reduced recreational and commercial ocean salmon seasons for the West Coast. The reduction in fishing days this season amounts to cuts of about a third for the ocean sport fishery and over half of the commercial fishery, compared to a normal season. The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018. Recreational fisheries in California from Horse Mountain to Pigeon Point (Fort Bragg and San Francisco areas) will be open from June 17 through October 31. The minimum size limit will be 20 inches total length. The area from Pigeon Point to the U.S./Mexico border (Monterey area and south) opened on April 7 and will run through July 2. The minimum size limit is 24 inches. Recreational fisheries from Humbug Mt, Oregon to the Oregon/California border will be open from mid-May through late August. The minimum size will be 20 inches. The area from the Oregon/California border to Horse Mountain, California (the Klamath Management Zone or KMZ) will be open from June 1 through September 2. The minimum size limit in the KMZ will be 20 inches in length. The Klamath Control Zone (KCZ) will be closed in August. There will be additional closures around the mouth of the Klamath, Smith and Eel rivers. “It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” said Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the west coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.” “This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast. Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions. Tribal, commercial, and recreational fishers continue to bear a large part of the burden of conservation,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson. John McManus, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA, said the “drastic reductions are due to a forecast of relatively few adult Sacramento Basin fall run salmon, which constrains the season this year.” That forecast comes from the National Marine Fisheries Service based on a weighted return of jack and jills (two- year—old salmon to the Sacramento Valley in 2017. “The number of adult Sacramento salmon in the ocean are believed to be fewer because an estimated 95 to 98 percent of natural spawned eggs died in overheated Sacramento River spawning beds during the drought in 2015,” McManus stated. “This left very few surviving natural origin baby salmon that year. Those salmon would have returned this year as adults. Water managers at the time left too little water in Lake Shasta, the source of the upper Sacramento River, to cool the spawning beds. River temperatures exceeded 56 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature beyond which salmon eggs die.” “This year’s greatly shortened commercial and sport seasons are caused by losses we sustained during the drought,” emphasized McManus. “This could have been avoided if more water had been reserved to keep the Sacramento cool enough to support spawning salmon. The State Water Resources Control Board is in a position to insure we don’t see a repeat in the next drought and we hope they act to protect California’s unique salmon runs. Families and communities up and down the coastal and inland river areas depend on these salmon.” For more information, please go to the Council website’s salmon season recommendations for 2018 salmon management: https://www.pcouncil. org/?p=53627 On April 12, the California Fish and Game Commission at a teleconference meeting approved full recreational fishing seasons on the Klamath/Trinity and Sacramento River systems, but the