BY DAVE HURLEY
SACRAMENTO – As anticipated, the recent 4-day ocean salmon season from Point Reyes south to Point Sur surpassed the 7500-fish quota, leading to in season action by the National Marine Fisheries Service on September 17 to close the remaining 2025 fall dates of Sept 29-30, October 1-5, and October 27-31. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) estimated that 12,000 Chinook salmon were taken by 12,400 anglers in the brief fall season.
Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sport Fishing said, “Next year, I have a feeling that we will get a longer season as what we saw in the ocean this year was nothing short of incredible. I look at it this way, we hit the 7,500-fish quota within four days, and I think we have only reached 7,500 fish four times since 1994 during a much longer open period. It just shows how many salmon are in the system.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife press release stated, “The use of harvest guidelines and in-season management in California’s ocean salmon sport fishery management is new this year. The guidelines were developed as part of the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s pre-season process using catch and effort information from prior years along with expected performance this year. The guidelines serve to ensure that impacts from the fishery to stocks of particular concern – Klamath River fall Chinook and Central Valley Spring and Sacramento River Winter Chinook – are minimized. In-season monitoring to actively manage commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries to align with pre-season harvest forecasts. CDFW met boat captains and anglers on the docks to collect fishery and biological data used to create catch estimates, abundance forecasts, and stock-specific information on the catch. CDFW continues to appreciate the cooperation of anglers during these surveys.”
Despite the disappointment of some that the remaining dates are now closed, it is quite clear what impact salmon have on northern California communities.
