A bleak spring

This spring may mark a decidedly nasty turning point for California food lovers as two of our most treasured highlights of the seasonal table seem to be in danger of disappearing.

Thursday afternoon, federal officials meeting in Seattle closed down California’s and Oregon’s salmon fishery. This is the first closure in the more than 150-year history of the fishery, which was thriving  as recently as 2004.

At the same time, reports say some asparagus farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta area are “rolling” their fields, taking them out of production. In the last five years, asparagus acreage in California, which grows 85% of the fresh asparagus in the United States, has declined from 36,000 acres to only 16,000. In the 1950s, as many as 75,000 acres were harvested.

The culprit is a combination of increasing labor costs — asparagus is extremely labor-intensive because it must be cut by hand — and competition from cheap imports grown in Mexico and South America.

The salmon crash came much more suddenly. As recently as 2004, California fishermen were catching more than 7 million pounds of king salmon a year, second only to Alaska. In 2006, the last year for which statistics are available, that had plummeted to 1.2 million pounds. Oregon, which fishes the same schools, saw its catch fall from 5 million to 1.3 million pounds in the same period. This year looks even worse: Projected “returns” — salmon returning to spawn — in the Sacramento River are less than half what fisheries managers say is required to ensure a viable population.

The cause of the drop is in some dispute. According to news reports, scientists point to poor ocean conditions, perhaps related to global warming. But fishermen say a bigger factor is the fragile condition of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta itself, which has suffered from pollution and increased water exports to Southern California.

-- Russ Parsons

Photo by Chad Surmick/Associated Press

Comments

[Robert NO longer in LA]

Commercial fleets vacuum the oceans; one Seattle firm's fleet 'harvested' a collateral (unintended/ILLEGAL) KILL, of 112,000 prized chinook salmon in Alaskan waters. Can't sell them, but these 112,000 salmon won't be reproducing. Commercial fleet owners ALL pay lots of money to our democratic and republican hookers...to insure loopholes and favorable treatment. In 20 years, only Bill Gates, Warren Buffett's descendants, and Bush/Clinton will be able to afford WILD salmon at about $60 a pound. Copper River will be $100 a pound. You'll be eating frankensalmon, raised in a dirty prison. Remember to REWARD your congressmen with another 2-6 year term, at your expense.

[Gimme a Break]

Primarily, it's spawning habitat destruction (including dams) but one cannot over look the commercial fishing fleets' RAPACIOUS and UNCONSCIONABLE greed - they hunt a species to extinction! Look into the history of past 200 years, from whaling, to abalone, and salmon is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The fewer fish = much higher prices and less effort. Only Alaska has reasonably, reasonably managed fishing stocks. Farmed salmon? Toxic prisons with bacteria, lice, and antibiotics to fight infection = BARF!
Victoria BC dumps 34 million gallons of RAW, untreated sewage into Puget Sound, every DAY! For years!!

[Laura Fleming]

The downturn in wild salmon returns on the West Coast, and resulting fishery closures, was touched upon in a recent Russ Parsons blog.

In terms of overall supply, 90% to 95% of the wild salmon harvested on the North American continent comes from Alaska. The commercial harvest last year exceeded 212 million salmon. Of those, 562,000 are Chinook salmon, the same species of Pacific salmon that Californians treasure. (The Alaska salmon harvest is predicted to be smaller this year in keeping with natural fluctuations in salmon cycles.) In addition to Chinook salmon, the species sockeye, coho, pink, and keta (chum) salmon are harvested in Alaska and made up the balance of the harvest. Salmon in Alaska are managed for sustainability, and the stocks have flourished. This has been a top priority since Alaska became a state almost fifty years ago, and Alaska has remained relatively free of the pressures of human habitation, allowing intact ecosystems to prevail. No salmon of Alaska origin has ever been listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. There is no finfish farming in Alaska. The harvests of wild salmon are robust, here in the world’s largest wild salmon fishery.

There will still be eco-friendly wild salmon in the stores for people to buy as they await the strengthening of the California salmon fishery. For decades Alaska’s salmon industry has labored to spread the word that wild Alaska salmon is abundant, and we have struggled to correct the misperception that all wild salmon are in trouble. When people hear about weak runs in the Pacific Northwest, and don’t hear about the healthy salmon runs in Alaska, they assume that all wild salmon in the U.S. is at risk.