California Archives - Page 16 of 106

CALIFORNIA: California closing Dungeness crab season to protect humpback whales

April 3, 2024 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is closing most of the U.S. state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery on Monday, 8 April.

California’s zones 3, 4, 5, and 6, stretching from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to the U.S.-Mexico border, will be closed at 6 p.m. on 8 April due to the presence of humpback whales in the area, with a 30-fathom depth constraint on traps going into effect in zones 1 and 2, which encompasses the rest of the state’s coastline north to the Oregon border.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Toxic Dust Threatens California Salmon Population, Lawmaker Seeks Solution

April 2, 2024 — For the first time in more than three decades of fishing for salmon near Bodega Bay, Dick Ogg will motor his white and navy boat, Karen Jeanne, north this summer past his typical fisheries in hopes of finding the multicolored species along the Oregon coast.

There aren’t enough salmon left off the California coast for Ogg to sell on Bodega Bay’s historic docks.

Fishery managers are signaling they may cancel California’s commercial salmon season for the second year in a row, which means the 71-year-old has two options: temporarily traveling to Oregon to catch salmon or barely making ends meet luring in rockfish and sablefish.

Ogg, often in a gray hoodie and wiry sunglasses, wishes there was a solution for boosting California’s salmon schools. He describes the species as “having one of the greatest spirits” an ocean-fairing creature can have.

“They can take a hook and bend it straight to get away,” he said, remembering countless salmon that escaped. “Maybe that’s what they were supposed to do, having the chance to go up the river to spawn.”

Read the full article at KQED

The Klamath River’s dams are being removed. Inside the effort to restore a scarred watershed

April 2, 2024 — Near the California-Oregon border, reservoirs that once submerged valleys have been drained, revealing a stark landscape that had been underwater for generations.

A thick layer of muddy sediment covers the sloping ground, where workers have been scattering seeds and leaving meandering trails of footprints. In the cracked mud, seeds are sprouting and tiny green shoots are appearing.

With water passing freely through tunnels in three dams, the Klamath River has returned to its ancient channel and is flowing unhindered for the first time in more than a century through miles of waterlogged lands.

Using explosives and machinery, crews began blasting and tearing into the concrete of one of the three dams earlier this month. While the massive dismantling project advances, a parallel effort to restore the river to a natural state is just beginning.

Read the full article at The Columbian

California fines San Diego fishermen USD 145,000 in poaching ring bust

April 1, 2024 — The U.S. state of California has busted a poaching ring based out of the city of San Diego that was illegally catching and selling bluefin tuna, yellowtail, and mahi.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said the poaching ring engaged in commercial fishing with “no regard to limits, documentation, or adhering to the highly regulated business practices of the commercial fishing industry.” In total, the fishermen involved were fined USD 145,000 (EUR 135,000) for the infractions, which included buying and selling more than 5,500 pounds of illegally caught fish that were sold for more than USD 26,000 (EUR 24,200).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFORNIA: California’s commercial Dungeness crab season will end April 8 to protect whales

April 1, 2024 — The commercial Dungeness crab season in California will be curtailed to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in trap and buoy lines, officials announced Thursday.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said commercial crabbing will end April 8 for waters between the Mendocino-Sonoma county line and the border with Mexico.

The recreational take of Dungeness crab using traps in those areas will also be prohibited. Recreational crabbers will be able to use other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares.

North of the Mendocino-Sonoma county line to the Oregon border, commercial crabbing will only be permitted to a depth of 180 feet (55 meters), officials said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

CALIFRONIA: Dungeness crab fishing season to end early for most of California

March 30, 2024 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on Thursday that they will close Dungeness crab fishing early for commercial and recreational fishers, per a news release provided by OCEANA.

Fisheries using vertical line gear off the central and southern coasts from south of the Sonoma/Mendocino County line will have to close up shop. There will also be a depth restriction to prohibit fishing in waters deeper than 180 feet for northern California, per OCEANA.

These changes will come into effect starting April 8.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife found earlier this month that not enough is being done to protect humpback whales after completing an assessment.

Read the full article at KSBW

CALIFORNIA: California awards USD 50 million for habitat restoration, rebuilding salmon populations

March 30, 2024 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has awarded USD 50 million (EUR 46 million) in grants to support habitat restoration across the state, including multiple projects that will directly support rebuilding salmon populations.

“These new investments are a key component to how we will restore California’s salmon population for the long term, and we’re doing it in partnership with the local communities and tribes who have been dealing with these issues for generations,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

CALIFRONIA: Sonoma County’s fishing community facing uncertain future with potential salmon season closure

March 27, 2024 — In 2024, California’s ocean salmon fishing industry stands at a critical juncture. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), cognizant of the challenges salmon populations face due to years of drought and environmental pressures, has laid out three potential paths for the salmon fishing season off California’s coast. These options range from limited fishing opportunities to a complete closure for the second consecutive year—a decision with profound implications for Sonoma County’s fishers, who grapple with the aftermath of previous closures and ongoing environmental and regulatory challenges.

Ogg also holds significant roles in various other environmental and fishing organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors for the California Salmon Council, is a director in the Bodega Bay Community Fishing Association, and is a member of numerous advisory councils, including the Cordell Banks Advisory Council, the Dungeness Crab Task Force, and the Gulf of the Farallons Advisory Council.

Read the full article at Sonoma County Gazette

CALIFORNIA: Algae bloom fish kills prompt new Bay Area wastewater treatment plant requirements costing $11 billion

March 18, 2024 — Ten years. That’s how much time the Bay Area’s 37 wastewater treatment plants will have to reduce fertilizer and sewage in their water by 40%. The estimated price tag for the facility upgrades is $11 billion.

The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board plans to adopt the change as part of its new discharge permit requirement beginning June 12. Previous permits did not require reductions, according to Lorien Fono, executive director of the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies, which oversees the region’s wastewater treatment plants. She spoke from the Oro Loma Sanitary District in San Lorenzo on Thursday. The facility is considered a model for upgrades.

The regulatory change follows a damaging algae bloom in 2022 and 2023. A brown algae species called Heterosigma akashiwo, which feeds off the nitrogen in wastewater, infected the Bay and damaged aquatic ecosystems.

Read the full article at CBS News

California ocean salmon season options revealed by council

March 15, 2024 — The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) has produced three options for ocean salmon seasons beginning May 16, 2024. Two of the three alternatives would authorize short ocean salmon season dates and establish small harvest limits for commercial and sport fishing off California in 2024. The third alternative would be to close the ocean fisheries off California for a second consecutive year. The alternatives were approved by the PFMC for public review on Monday.

In response to several years of drought over the past decade, key California salmon target stocks are forecast to have 2024 abundance levels that, while higher than last year, are well below average. The 2024 stock abundance forecast for Sacramento River Fall Chinook, often the most abundant in the ocean fishery, is 213,600 adults. Meanwhile, abundance of Klamath River Fall Chinook is forecast at 180,700 adults. At this level of abundance, the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan authorizes only low levels of fishing on these stocks. It requires management to be designed to allow most of the adult population to return to the river to spawn.

Read the full article at The National Fisherman