The decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to allow limited commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast is a win for the state's salmon fishing industry, which has grappled with years of season closures due to dwindling fish stocks. The council, which manages fisheries off the West Coast, barred commercial salmon fishing off California for the past three years. It voted last year to allow some recreational fishing for the first time since 2022.
"It is great news for everyone — for the fishermen, for seafood lovers and the environment because it means that salmon populations are back to a much healthier state," California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said ahead of the decision.
"Salmon are part of the cultural fabric of California, and I'm delighted more Californians will have the opportunity to enjoy these magnificent fish whether that's in the water, on the end of their fishing lines or on their dinner plates," said Meghan Hertel, the director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The council voted to limit commercial fishing to only a few days and set quotas for the number of salmon that can be caught.
But recent wet winters have brought in more cold water, which the fish need to spawn.
After four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River were removed in 2024, salmon returned to spawn in waters along the Oregon-California border where they hadn't for decades. The state has since removed barriers that prevented the passage of salmon in other waterways, including on Alameda Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, Crowfoot said.
Preserving a healthy salmon population is crucial for the environment and the state's economy, Crowfoot said.
Vance Staplin, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, largely blamed state and federal water management policies for low salmon stocks in recent years. The fishing season closures had a large impact on the state's fishermen, bait shops and companies that make fishing equipment, he said.
"People don't understand how big of an industry salmon is to California," he said.
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