Sacramento River Fall Chinook Runs Collapse To Lowest Level Since Measurements Began

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Despite a historic shutdown of coastal salmon fishing, the number of salmon returning to the Sacramento River is collapsing, according to preliminary data released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Returning fall Chinook salmon numbers have dropped to their lowest level since monitoring began in the 1970s, the report said.

The finding means it is unlikely that fishing will resume this year, disappointing fishermen who have eked out the last two years on disaster aid, waiting for salmon fishing bans to be lifted. "Almost certainly this will be another year of total closure," said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Assns.

As recently as eight years ago, the fall Chinook salmon run into the Sacramento River, the backbone of the state's ocean salmon stocks, numbered nearly 800,000. But as return numbers dropped more than tenfold, fisheries managers took the unprecedented step of canceling two salmon seasons along the California coast.

They hoped this would help the fish recover. Instead, the new counts indicate that last fall's return dropped nearly 40% from the previous fall's. Only 39,500 salmon were counted returning to the Sacramento, a "severe crisis" level, said Dan Wolford, vice chairman of the council, which will make its decision on the fishing season in April.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-salmon13-2010feb13,0,3746950.story