West coast salmon levels could triple in 2011

[Bud Man]

West coast salmon levels could triple in 2011

Thursday, March 03, 2011, 15:30 (GMT + 9)

Biologists expect coastal salmon levels to triple in California in 2011, with 729,000 salmon versus a 2010 forecast of 245,000 fish, said Spokesperson Harry Morse of the Department of Fish and Game this week.

The new development could allow California fishers to enjoy a full-length coastal salmon fishing season.

"It looks like we're going to be probably not in a normal season but back to closer to normal," said Zeke Grader, executive director of commercial salmon industry group Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), reports Contra Costa Times. "There's a reason to be cautiously optimistic."

If the salmon numbers do approach the anticipated numbers, salmon fishers on the western US would finally be able to rejoice following cancelled seasons in 2008 and 2009 and a curtailed season last year. The vanished fishing seasons incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, according to the department.

"Good news for a change," said Fish and Game Deputy Director Sonke Mastrup. "Salmon numbers are projected to provide some real opportunity for sport and commercial anglers."

Next week, the Pacific Fishery Management Council will look at the data and devise a final number in order to give advice regarding the length of the 2011 season, Morse told. A final decision will come later in the spring, reports AP.

The actual amount of salmon counted by the end of last year’s season was lower than half of what was predicted, the department cautioned. Salmon level estimates are founded on data pertaining to the number of salmon returning to spawn in California’s rivers, the amounts of fish spawning in California salmon hatcheries and also a sampling of the current ocean population.

This year’s prediction for the coastal salmon stock is based primarily on the numbers of adult Chinook salmon that showed up last fall in the Sacramento River. Even though these numbers were lower than originally anticipated, they were higher compared to the steep falls in 2008 and 2009.

Officials from the state’s Department of Fish and Game, meanwhile, are getting ready for the season based on expectations that it could begin as early as mid-April off Northern California, Morse communicated.

But some fishers are concerned that despite the higher number of salmon on their way, they must first swim through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta before getting back to ocean waters.

Environmentalists and fishers both say the pumps in the delta that carry water to many state farmers are the culprit for the drastic drop in the salmon stock.






By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

[Capt Josh]

Music to my ears! I can tell you there were more fish around Tofino last year than i could ever remember. Hopefully, it just keeps getting better and better!