Another bad year for a wild-salmon barbie

Gastronomes beware. It’s looking to be another sorry season for wild salmon.

With federal regulators predicting another dismal return of Chinook to California rivers, commercial fishermen are anticipating they will once again be ordered to stay off the water.

Last year the feds, for the first time ever, shut down the salmon season before it began. Although returns on some rivers are better this year, they’re probably not enough to convince officials at the Pacific Fishery Management Council to let commercial anglers out of port.

“It looks lousy again,” said Duncan MacLean, a captain from Half Moon Bay. “I’ll be shocked if we get a season.”

The big problem once again is the Sacramento River. It's the prime salmon spawning ground on the West Coast, but it has flagged the last two seasons. Last year saw 66,000 fish return. This year scientists expect the numbers to almost double — but that’s not likely to be enough to allow commercial fishermen to go at it again.

“This is grim news for the state of California,” said Don Hansen, chairman of the regulatory council. “We won’t be able to talk about this without using the word ‘disaster.’ ”

Commercial salmon fishermen survived last year after the federal government ordered up $170 million in disaster relief for the industry. This year will require more of the same, said MacLean, or the industry will go bust.

“I used to be able to say they’d have to pry my gaff hook from my cold, dead fingers,” he said. “But I don’t know now. If I don’t have disaster help, me and a lot of other fishermen are going to be up the creek without a paddle.”

— Eric Bailey

Comments

[Cris]

Hi Hans,
Aren't wetlands and estuaries the same thing? Just saying. I think we should be concentrating on bigger concerns when it comes to the environment, not saying that salmon aren't REALLY important..

[Hans]

What IS it about people that they can't seem to accept that they can't have everything they want any time they want it? LEAVE THE POOR SALMON ALONE, fer Chrissakes! Eat potatoes or turnips or hake. Or any of literally thousands of other available options. We've plundered and stripped the planet with complete impunity and disregard for consequences for YEARS now, thinking only of profit and what "we" want. We're running out of potable water, space and resources... we've clogged up and dammed rivers, polluted estuaries, wetlands, oceans, rivers and lakes... scraped clean HUGE swaths of ocean floor ... numerous species are extinct or endangered, but all we can worry about is that we don't get to have one kind of fish to eat. it's LAME and it's stupid, and ultimately suicidal. The entire notion of some species of animal being and "industry" (the "salmon industry") is absurd. As for the jobs, well - I've had 65 jobs over the course of my lifetime - one dries up you accept it, deal with it, move on and do something ELSE. No one ever guaranteed anyone one career... it blows me away how impossibly idiotic, shortsighted, greedy and self centered people are. we all live on a finite planet , with finite resources, and we have limits. Please, can we allow the beleaguered salmon a rest and the chance to recover? we'll ALL be much better off for it - and this can be applied to so many other areas as well. We ALL need to grow up and start behaving responsibly.

[Hans]

I feel compelled to comment on this issue : For literally years now, we humans (and in particular Americans) have acted with complete impunity and disregard for nature, wildlife and the environment, seeing it as our supposedly God given "right" to plunder and exploit the earth, seas and rivers for our own amusement and profit. We've overfished for years, scraped clean huge swaths of the ocean floor, dammed up rivers , sucked down water, polluted wetlands, streams, and estuaries with our waste and trash, and generally behaved very stupidly and poorly with very little regard for either reality or consequences. we've always just "assumed" we're entitled to having anything we want whenever we want it. The salmon are in serious trouble, as is the planet, our potable water supply and numerous other species and resources. There is NOTHING that says we can do whatever we please and not have to abide by the laws of supply and demand, nor can we realistically expect to continue going on as we have. LEAVE THE POOR FISH ALONE. As far as salmon being an "industry" well that's a pretty asinine concept from the get go. If you can't have a salmon , then eat potatoes or any one of thousands of other things that are available and get over it already! As for the fishermen, well - I've had about 65 jobs over my lifetime. When one dries up, you accept it, deal with it and move on. do something ELSE. we ALL need to understand that we live on a finite planet and that we have limitations, as does nature. I wonder why people can't seem to accept a simple "no" for an answer! No , you can't have salmon - so get over it. and let them recover. And this can be applied in NUMEROUS other areas as well. We're running our of water, space and resources, so we're all going to have to grow up and start behaving with more intelligence, respect and consideration for our environment and cut out the crap.