Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: Bay Area fisherman celebrate the return of salmon fishing

April 14, 2026 — California’s salmon fishermen will head back out to sea this spring for the first time in three years, after the management council that sets fishing regulations voted to allow expanded salmon fishing this season.

At the finale of its meeting in Portland, Oregon this past weekend, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council voted to reopen both the commercial and recreational seasons — the latter which only was allowed to fish a handful of days over the last three years.

While the season is far more limited than previous seasons — before the historic shutdown — the new allotment re-energized a fishing industry that has been devastated in recent years.

“This has been the darkest period that I’ve seen in my thirty years in this industry,” said Jared Davis, owner of the Salty Lady charter fishing boat.

Davis was among local fishermen who during the closure, pivoted to rockfish, lingcod, striped bass and halibut. But he said salmon was the star attraction for his customers.

Read the full article at NBC Bay Area

Thousands of Sharks, Other Sea Life Mysteriously Die in San Francisco Bay

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife isn’t dedicating any funding toward determining the cause, says resources are needed elsewhere

October 5, 2017 — As many as 2,000 leopard sharks have mysteriously died in the San Francisco Bay over the past few months. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says determining the cause is not a priority for the state since the sharks are not threatened or endangered, however, scientists say additional research and resources are crucial since the threat is now believed to be preying on other marine life.

“This year is unusual in that there has been a large number of other species that have also been dying,” said Dr. Mark Okihiro, a research scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “This pathogen can tackle a variety of different species … we’ve had a much more diverse group of fish that have been found dead in the San Francisco Bay.”

At least 500 bat rays, hundreds of striped bass, 50 smooth-hound sharks and about 100 halibut died in the bay between February and July, according to Okihiro’s estimates.

Tiny Organism Blamed for Massive Shark Die-Off

Similar shark deaths in the area date back 50 years and have gone unexplained. Okihiro, however, now believes a parasite may be behind the mysterious die-off that has plagued the Bay Area.

“We’re pretty confident at this point,” Okihiro said. “It’s called Miamiensis avidus … it’s a small single celled organism. It’s very similar to the common amoeba.”

Okihiro regularly performs necropsies on stranded sharks found along the bay and says researchers at UC San Francisco helped him identify parasite DNA in a large number of those shark samples.

Read the full story at NBC Bay Area