August 10, 2026 — When he stares out from the docks on the Feather River, James Stone—a 46-year-old lifelong fisherman—feels a pang of concern.
Fishing for chinook salmon, also called king salmon, had been called off completely for California’s commercial fishermen since 2023 and nearly as long for recreational anglers. While the fishery is open again this year, and the federal government recently announced emergency funding for those hit hardest by the closure, the consequences of multiple canceled fishing seasons continues to have ripple effects that are hard to fully account for.
“We’re losing marinas. We’re losing tackle stores. We’re losing bait shops. We’re also losing infrastructure out on the ocean at the ports for gas pumps … everything’s going away because salmon is the driver,” Stone, who is based in Yuba City and serves as the board president of the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association, told Inside Climate News.
Without plentiful chinook salmon to support local fisheries, “people won’t always spend the money for other species or for other recreational activities,” Stone said. “Salmon is what drives the fishing industry.”
Fishing guides and anglers with the association, which has 4,000 members and represents more than 500 businesses, are among many who have been hurting for years as the fish dwindles in California.
Cameron Smith, a commercial fisherman for over 20 years, said people who make their living fishing in California have tried to turn to other species—like Dungeness crab and cod—to make ends meet. But it hasn’t been enough amid skyrocketing fuel costs and high inflation, said the 70-year-old captain based in Benicia.
“They can’t pivot. There’s nothing to pivot to,” Smith said.
Fishers with commercial licenses to catch other species are managing better than others, he said, but just barely.
California’s salmon industry spurs $1.4 billion in economic activity and provides 23,000 jobs in a normal season, according to the Golden State Salmon Association, a nonprofit. The industry also contributes about $700 million to the Oregon economy and supports more than 10,000 jobs there.
On June 17, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced $123.6 million in disaster funding for several fishing industries in need of resources. That includes $21.3 million for Sacramento River fall chinook and Klamath River fall chinook ocean and inland salmon fisheries, Michael Milstein, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region, said in an email.
Salmon fisheries in California were allocated close to the same amount, roughly $20 million, in 2024 as part of previous disaster funding.
Most importantly, salmon is once again central to California’s fishing economy after federal managers voted in April to allow the commercial and recreational salmon fishery to resume this year. In 2025, they granted a limited return for recreational fishermen, but Stone said about 95 percent of the recreational inland fishery remained closed in 2025 based on the areas where it was allowed. The first-ever salmon fishing pause in California took place in 2008, with a limited fishing season opening again two years later.
Still, people who rely on California’s salmon for their living continue to face economic stress.
While this year’s revived salmon fishing season in the state has already begun, commercial and recreational fishers are subject to strict limits on the size and number of fish they can catch.