California Archives - Page 18 of 108

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

CALIFORNIA: California Salmon Season to Be Restricted or Shut Down — Again

March 12, 2024 — California’s fishing industry is bracing for another bad year as federal managers announced Monday plans to heavily restrict or prohibit salmon fishing again after canceling the entire season last year.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Monday released a series of options that are under consideration, all of which either ban commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the ocean off California or shorten the season and set strict catch limits. The council’s decision is expected next month; the commercial season typically begins in May and ends in October.

While more Chinook salmon returned from the ocean to spawn last year than in 2022, fishery managers said the population is expected to be so small that they must be protected this year to avoid overfishing.

Fall-run Chinook salmon are a mainstay of commercial and recreational fishing and tribal food supplies. But their populations are now a fraction of what they once were — dams have blocked vital habitat, while droughts and water diversions have driven down flows and increased temperatures, killing large numbers of salmon eggs and young fish.

The plan is a devastating blow for an industry still reeling from last year’s closure. State officials estimate that last year’s closure cost about $45 million — which the fishing industry says vastly underestimates the actual toll.

Read the full article at KQED

CALIFORNIA: Calif. fishermen struggle with proposal to protect deep-sea coral

March 6, 2024 — The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) will analyze the potential impacts of fishery closures for deep-sea coral restoration and research sites. These sites are proposed to protect habitats from bottom fishing gear in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Sur Ridge, Ano Nuevo Canyon, and Ascension Canyon are the three potential sites. The fishing gear that could affect these sanctuaries at these depths would include traps and set longlines for black cod, also known as sablefish. The proposed coral research and restoration areas vary in size. Sur Ridge is 36.64 nautical square miles, Ano Neuvo Canyon is 6.5 nautical square miles, and Ascension Canyon is 2.96 nautical square miles, with the depths of all three ranging from 1574 to 5118 feet.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

California salmon disaster funding falls far short, say fishing advocates

February 6, 2024 –The $20.6 million allocated for federal relief to California’s Chinook salmon closure is just two-thirds of the state’s aid request, and threatens the survival of fishing businesses, California commercial anglers and for-hire recreational groups said Monday.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Golden Gate Fisherman’s Association, and the Northern California Guides and Sportsmen’s Association called for “immediate full funding of salmon disaster funding assistance” in the $30.7 million figure sought by state officials.

“The State’s economic analysis already falls short of expected needs, and the federal disaster assistance package add insult to injury,” leaders of the fishing groups wrote in their joint letter. “Additionally, nearly a year after the declaration of the complete season closure, not one dollar of relief funds have been made available to affected businesses or their employees.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US government provides USD 21 million in financial relief for California salmon season closure

February 5, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Commerce has allocated USD 20.6 million (EUR 19.2 million) in financial relief to the state of California following the closure of its Chinook salmon season in 2023.

“Fishery disasters have wide-ranging impacts and can affect commercial and recreational fishermen, subsistence users, charter businesses, shore-side infrastructure, and the marine environment,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “These funds will help affected California communities recover and improve sustainability.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource