Saving Seafood

California salmon season shuts down for third year in a row

April 17, 2025 — California’s salmon fishery will be closed to commercial fishermen for an unprecedented third year in a row, under a vote Tuesday by fishery managers.

What happened: After an abysmal forecast for this season’s salmon numbers, the Pacific Fishery Management Council approved a proposal Tuesday that would bar commercial fishermen from harvesting salmon due to even lower populations than in 2023 and 2024.

Though the past two seasons have also seen a closure for recreational fishing, this year’s proposal allows a few dayslong windows for sport and recreational anglers under a statewide harvest quota based on a recommendation from NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story at E&E News

ALASKA: Alaska Board of Fisheries rejects hatchery production cuts

February 12, 2025 — A proposal to slash hatchery production of pink and chum salmon in Southeast Alaska was rejected by the Alaska Board of Fisheries over the weekend.

The measure, known as Proposal 156, aimed to cut hatchery egg takes by 25 percent but failed to gain majority support from the seven-member board, Intrafish reported.

The proposal sparked a heated debate, with commercial fishermen, sport fishing interests, and aquaculture advocates warning of the economic fallout. The Sitka Sound Science Center, which runs Alaska’s oldest salmon hatchery, was among those opposing the measure, citing its role in training and education.

Proponents of the reduction argued that hatchery-raised salmon creates too much competition in the ocean for food resources, potentially harming wild king salmon populations. With ongoing king salmon closures and growing user conflicts, some groups pushed for lower hatchery production as a precaution.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US government confirms fishery disasters took place in California salmon runs

January 6, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that fishery disasters affected multiple California salmon runs, including the 2024 Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon fishery and the 2024 Klamath River fall Chinook salmon fishery.

The official determinations open up those fisheries to federal financial relief, which will be allocated to the state and Tribal governments to distribute to affected fishers and businesses.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Advocacy groups call on Alaska to eliminate pollock trawling in Prince William Sound

December 10, 2024 — Salmon industry advocacy group SalmonState is calling on the Alaska State Board of Fisheries to limit or eliminate the Prince William Sound pollock pelagic trawl fishery – the only such fishery managed by the state.

The state board will consider four separate proposals that would either add further restrictions on the state-managed pollock fishery or eliminate it entirely at its annual meeting in Cordova, Alaska, taking place 10 to 16 December.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Small fish size linked to poorer runs of chinook in Alaska’s biggest rivers

December 9, 2024 — The shrinking size of Alaska salmon, a decades-long trend linked in part to warming conditions in the ocean, is hampering the ability of chinook in Alaska’s two biggest rivers to produce new generations needed to maintain healthy populations, a new study shows.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study shows how the body conditions of chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, combined with extreme heat and cold in the ocean and freshwater environments, have converged in the Yukon and Kuskokwim river systems to depress what is termed “productivity” — the successful reproduction that results in adult spawners returning to the same area.

The study examines 26 different populations of chinook in those two river systems in areas from Western Alaska to the Yukon River uplands in Canada. Chinook runs in those rivers have faltered in recent years, and the situation has been so dire on the Canadian part of the Yukon that U.S. and Canadian officials earlier this year suspended all harvests of Canadian-origin chinook for seven years.

The analysis of multiple factors and conditions revealed that fish size was a major factor that determined productivity, defined as adult salmon returning to spawning grounds successfully producing a next generation of adults to come back to the same spawning area.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Washington state bolsters support for salmon recovery in Columbia Basin

December 6, 2024 — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has directed state agencies to take immediate actions aimed at safeguarding the region’s dwindling salmon population, while warning the incoming Trump administration to refrain from backtracking on federal commitments.

In an executive order signed this week, Inslee asked state officials and organizations to strengthen their work on restoring the Columbia River Basin’s salmon population, advance science-based solutions, revive habitats and bring together diverse interest groups.

“Salmon have inhabited Washington for millions of years, but their time is running out,” Inslee said in a statement. “We cannot waver for a moment, now or in the future, in our work to restore these runs.”

The order emphasizes the state of Washington’s commitment to collaborating with other stakeholders, referencing a December 2023 partnership with Oregon and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs — collectively known as the “Six Sovereigns.”

Read the full story at The Hill

 

Kenai accepts funds for 2018 and 2020 fishery disasters

December 6, 2024 — Kenai’s City Council on Wednesday accepted relief funds from a pair of fishery disasters that were first recognized and allocated in 2022.

During their regular meeting on Dec. 4, the council adopted by unanimous consent two resolutions accepting around $67,000 in disaster relief funds for the 2018 east side set gillnet and 2020 Upper Cook Inlet salmon disasters and $11,000 for the 2018 and 2020 Copper River and Prince William Sound salmon disasters.

Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel said during the meeting that the city had passed a resolution in support of the disaster declaration at the request of the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association. Gabriel credited their efforts in securing the fundings — especially Ken Coleman, who died earlier this year.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

 

Biden admin announces USD 99 million for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

December 5, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Commerce will provide USD 99 million (EUR 94 million) in annual funding for Pacific salmon and steelhead recovery efforts through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), the government announced 4 December.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has been committed to salmon recovery along the West Coast, and this new funding will help NOAA boost efforts to aid Pacific salmon survival and recovery,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA makes $99 million available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

December 4, 2024 — Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for conservation and recovery projects focusing on Pacific salmon and steelhead. This funding — which includes $34.4 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — will advance state and tribal efforts to restore salmon populations and habitats, and bolster climate and economic resilience in surrounding communities.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to salmon recovery along the West Coast and this new funding will help NOAA boost efforts to aid Pacific salmon survival and recovery,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, will help get Pacific salmon populations closer to the healthy and abundant levels our West Coast ecosystems and communities need, and help create new jobs that enhance climate resilience along our coasts.”

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

UAF study links declining salmon to extreme climate, smaller size

December 4, 2024 — A new University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) study published in the scientific journal Global Change Biology, says extreme climate and smaller body size have led to declining Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers’ King Salmon populations.

Over the last decade, the lower number of certain salmon species making it to rural Alaska villages, along the two tributaries, has led the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to impose catching restrictions.

UAF researcher Erik Schoen said the study began in 2020, and examined 26 different spawning areas across the two river basins.

“Across the board, there were a few big drivers that affected all of these populations. Some of those were out in the ocean. So ocean climate, extreme conditions like really cold winters and really hot summers in the ocean had big negative effects,” Schoen said.

Read the full story at Alaska’s News Source