2015 Pacific Salmon Season (Recreational Fisheries)

Biologists are predicting good salmon runs up and down the Pacific Coast for the 2015 fishing season.

In March the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) adopted three public review options for the 2015 salmon season off the West Coast of the United States.

Public hearings to receive input on the options are scheduled for March 30 in Westport, Washington and Coos Bay, Oregon; and for March 31 in Fort Bragg, California.

The Council will consult with scientists, hear public comment, and revise preliminary decisions until it chooses a final option at its meeting April 10-16 in Rohnert Park, California.

At its April meeting in Rohnert Park, the Council will narrow the options to a single season recommendation to be forwarded to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for their final approval before May 1.

All PFMC meetings are open to the public.

Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open, and catch limits for all three options are available on the PFMC website at www.pcouncil.org.

source: Pacific Fishery Management Council

2014 West Coast USA Ocean Salmon Seasons

The Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted a set of ocean salmon seasons that provides both recreational and commercial opportunities coastwide.

Washington and Oregon fishermen, in particular, will be benefit from higher-than-usual salmon returns in the Columbia River this year.

Salmon fisheries in California and Oregon provide access to an expected good return of Sacramento River fall Chinook while meeting protective measures for Klamath River fall Chinook, Sacramento River winter Chinook, and California Coastal Chinook.
   
The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2014.

“Everyone is excited about the strong, near-record, abundance of Columbia River stocks and improved numbers of coho salmon,” said Council Chair Dorothy Lowman.  “it is rewarding to see hard work translate into a balance of achieving conservation goals while providing good seasons for both recreational and commercial ocean salmon fisheries this summer.”

The coastal states will decide on compatible freshwater fishery regulations at their respective Commission hearings.

For more information, visit: http://www.pcouncil.org

source: Pacific Fishery Management Council

2014 Pacific Salmon Recreational Seasons

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recently adopted three public review options for the 2014 salmon season off the West Coast of the United States. The Council will select a final option at their next meeting in Vancouver, Washington on April 5-9.

Sport Season Options:

Northern Oregon and Washington (north of Cape Falcon)

Ocean sport fishery options north of Cape Falcon in Oregon and off the Washington coast have mark-selective coho quotas ranging from 159,600 to 193,200 that start in late June and run into September (last year, the quota was 74,760 coho).

For Chinook salmon, quotas range from 47,500 Chinook to 60,000 Chinook (last year, the quota was 48,000 Chinook). Chinook quotas are limited due to in order to protect lower Columbia River tule fall Chinook, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

California and southern Oregon (south of Cape Falcon)

California ocean sport fishing options generally provide continuous fishing opportunity from April to October or November.

Oregon ocean recreational options include mark-selective coho fishing seasons starting in June or July and running into September. Quotas range from 50,000 to 80,000 coho.

In addition, non-mark selective fisheries are proposed in September with a quota of 20,000 coho. Options for Oregon ocean Chinook fishing in the Brookings area run May through September. For the Tillamook, Newport, and Coos Bay areas, season options range from March to October.

Public hearings to receive input on the options are scheduled for March 24 in Westport, Washington and Coos Bay, Oregon; and for March 25 in Eureka, California. The Council will consult with scientists, hear public comment, and revise preliminary decisions until it chooses a final option at its meeting April 5-10 in Vancouver, Washington.

At its April meeting in Vancouver, the Council will narrow these options to a single season recommendation to be forwarded to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for their final approval before May 1.

Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open,and catch limits for all three options are available on the Council’s website at

www.pcouncil.org.

source: Pacific Fishery Management Council

NOAA-NFWF Pacific Coast Fish Habitat Projects

NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have awarded $135,000—and leveraged nearly $320,000 in matching, non-federal funds—for five fish habitat protection projects on the Pacific Coast.

The funding program was developed to promote voluntary coastal and marine protection activities within the National Fish Habitat Partnership. Each of the funded projects was endorsed by the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership and/or the California Fish Passage Forum.

The projects will incorporate the support of community conservation organizations, farmers, homeowners, recreational anglers, and boaters to protect habitat for threatened and endangered salmon and other commercially and recreationally valuable fish.

Funded projects include:

Increasing water flow during critical Coho salmon and steelhead trout migration in the San Gregorio watershed, California (American Rivers)

Establishing a voluntary, no anchor, eelgrass protection zone in Port Townsend, Washington (Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation)

Setting up a neighborhood conservation easement program to protect salmon habitat in San Juan County, Washington (Friends of the San Juans)

Acquiring 167 acres of coastal estuary and freshwater wetlands at Sand Lake, Oregon (North Coast Land Conservancy)

Protecting 120 acres of tidal wetlands in Tillamook Bay, Oregon (Wild Salmon Center)

source: NOAA FishNews

Pacific Northwest Saltwater Fishing

Pacific Salmon

Arguably one the best fishing destinations in the world, the Pacific Northwest is world renowned for its saltwater fishing. Anglers fish from ports in Alaska, B.C. Canada, Washington, and Oregon, and northern California.

Salmon, trout, and char are highly sought after in the Pacific Northwest. Anglers catch Chinook, silver, pink, sockeye and chum salmon as well as arctic charr, steelhead, and other species.

In Alaska and other northern areas, Pacific halibut are a top attraction for bottom anglers, with fish over 50 pounds commonly caught. Other bottom fish include lingcod and dozens of species of rockfish.

Although much of the fishing in the region occurs in cold, rainy weather the area is known for its comfortable, seaworthy charter boats and head boats. Onshore, anglers that visit the Pacific Northwest will find a wide range of fishing lodges and other accommodations.

2011 Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Annual Report

NOAA Fisheries has released its 2011 Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Report to Congress.

Under the PCSRF, NOAA supports tribal and state projects throughout the the Pacific Coast region; Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, and Alaska.

The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) was established by Congress in FY 2000 to protect, restore, and conserve Pacific salmon and steelhead populations and their habitats.

source: NOAA press release

Golden Gate Salmon Association Launched

The new Golden Gate Salmon Association is a coalition of commercial and recreational fisheries groups, conservation organizations and scientists dedicated to rebuilding the West Coast’s Central Valley salmon populations. The group has been aggressively carrying out fund raising efforts this spring. Its inaugural fund raising dinner is set for 28 April in Santa Rosa. Another fund raising dinner will be held in May at the Marin Rod & Gun Club in San Rafael (just north of San Francisco).

According to the organization, funds will be used to ensure fishery interests are represented and heard in a series of meetings over the next two years dealing with California salmon Biological Opinions, protecting salmon migrating through the Bay-Delta Estuary, and keeping state and federal salmon doubling goals front-and-center in water and Delta restoration discussions.

For more information, visit: http://www.goldengatesalmonassociation.com/

source: FishLink Sublegals

2011 California Chinook Salmon Run Predictions

On 1 March, the California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG) released data on the 2010 salmon spawning escapement for the Central Valley (Sacramento, San Joaquin River, and tributaries) and Klamath Basin, along with its projections for adult salmon ocean abundance for 2011.

The numbers presented at the Santa Rosa meeting were up substantially from the past three years, indicating the likelihood for a substantial increase in fishing opportunity in 2011.

This is good news not only for California’s commercial trollers, recreational anglers and, in the case of the Klamath, native Indian fishermen, but also for Oregon and Washington’s ocean salmon fishery, where Klamath and Central Valley chinook contribute substantially to those states’ ocean catch.

CDFG is currently projecting a 729,000 adult fall-run for Central Valley chinook for 2011, up significantly from the 245,000 fish projection of 2010, when only a token salmon fishery was allowed.  The two years before that, the ocean had been closed to California’s (and most of Oregon’s) salmon fishermen due to the collapse of Central Valley stocks.

The 2011 returning class of salmon will be the first year-class to have benefited from the salmon protections enacted in the Bay-Delta Estuary aimed at reducing mortality on baby Central Valley salmon migrating downstream through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Bay and out the Golden Gate to the Pacific.

Those protections came about following a lawsuit brought by PCFFA and other fishing and conservation groups (PCFFA, et al. v. Gutierrez) that resulted in a Biological Opinion (Bi-Op) and development of a recovery plan for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) -listed salmon runs including the Sacramento winter and spring-run chinook.

Fall-run chinook runs that support the salmon fishery benefited as well from these ESA-ordered protections; fall-run numbers had been decimated from over-pumping by the State (SWP) and Federal (CVP) projects in the Delta, diverting freshwater flow to the westside San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

Klamath River salmon returns are also projected to be up, for an estimated abundance of 370,000 adult fish, up from 331,500 in 2010.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of developing management options for the 2011 salmon season.

For more information, see www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/future-meetings/#2011

source: Fishlink Sublegals

Pacific Coast Salmon Seasons to Open

 The Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted a set of salmon seasons that provides both recreational and commercial opportunities coastwide for the first time since 2007.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2010. “While modest at best in historical terms, this season represents a substantial improvement over the seasons in California and Oregon in the last two years. It will be good to have fishermen back on the water,” said Council chairman Dave Ortmann.

North of Cape Falcon

Fisheries north of Cape Falcon (near Nehalem in northern Oregon) depend largely on Columbia River stocks. Columbia River fall Chinook returns in 2009 were mostly above average, although the North Lewis River wild return was slightly less than the
management objective of 5,700 adults. Forecasts for 2010 were generally above average, including a record high for the Spring Creek Hatchery stock. Columbia River hatchery coho returning to the river mouth were the highest since 2001. However, the 2010 forecast is substantially lower than in 2009. North of Cape Falcon, there is an overall non-Indian total allowable catch of 117,000 Chinook and 80,000 marked hatchery coho.


Recreational Fisheries

The recreational Chinook season north of Cape Falcon begins June 12 and ends June 30 or when 12,000 marked Chinook are caught. The Chinook season will be open seven days per week, two fish per day, with a 24 inch total length minimum size limit.

All salmon seasons are divided into four sub-areas.

Seasons begin July 1 (or July 4 in the Westport sub-area) and end in mid to late September.

For details, please see the season descriptions on the Council website at:

http://www.pcouncil.org/wpcontent/uploads/PFMC_Adopted_Salmon_Regs.pdf


Commercial Fisheries

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional Chinook seasons in the May-June timeframe and all salmon seasons in the July to September timeframe. The Chinook quota of 56,000 is more than twice the 2009 quota.
The coho quota of 13,000 is about one third of the 2009 quota.

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar to recent years, although coho quotas are also much smaller than in 2009.

South of Cape Falcon

Fisheries south of Cape Falcon are supported by Sacramento River fall Chinook. In 2008 and 2009, poor Sacramento returns led to the largest fishery closure on record. In 2009,adult spawning escapement for Sacramento River fall Chinook failed to meet the escapement goal (122,000-180,000 adults) for the third year in a row, leading to the formal declaration of an overfishing concern (although fishing is not considered one of the major causes of the stock’s decline). The forecast for the Sacramento Index of ocean abundance in 2010 is 245,500 adults, which provides adequate numbers for limited fisheries.

The Klamath River fall Chinook forecast for 2010 is sufficient to allow some fishing opportunity. The Oregon Coast natural coho forecast in 2010 is about 70 percent of last year’s forecast, but still above the 15 year average.


Recreational Fisheries

Recreational fisheries in Oregon will allow Chinook retention and run from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends. There will also be a concurrent mark-selective coho fishery from starting June 26 and ending either September 6 or when the quota of 26,000 is reached.

Recreational fisheries in California are for Chinook only and run from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends in the Eureka/Crescent City area, and from April 3 to September 6 in areas further south; however, fishing will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday south of Point Arena. The minimum size limit will be 24 inches for Chinook coastwide.

The escapement goal, or conservation objective, is the optimal number of adult fish returning to spawn in order to maximize the production of the stock.


Commercial Fisheries

Commercial fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt., Oregon will be open from May 1 through August 25 with some three-day-a-week closures in July. Fisheries in the Humbug Mt. to California border area will be open in May, July and August, with the July and August fisheries on quotas of 1,500 Chinook for each month.

Commercial fisheries in California are very limited, but will include two four-day openers in July south of Point Arena, and additional quota fisheries in the Fort Bragg area during late July and August.

California and Oregon fisheries also include a catch-and-release genetic study during closed periods.


source: Pacific Fishery Management Council news release