Lean year for
salmon on
Klamath
John Driscoll
The
Times-Standard
February 7, 2007
Fishing season
could be crimped
again if
forecast stays
bleak
For the third
year in a row,
too few salmon
returned to the
Klamath River to
meet a threshold
set to ensure
the health of
the fishery in
the future.
That will likely
trigger an
overfishing
review by the
federal
government,
which will
determine
whether a
rebuilding plan
needs to be
drawn up.
An estimated
30,400 wild
salmon reached
the river to
spawn, confirmed
Pacific
Fisheries
Management
Council staff
officer Chuck
Tracy, 4,600
fewer than the
number that
biologists have
set as a minimum
to produce a
strong next
generation of
fish.
That number of
spawners is
substantially
higher than the
22,000 predicted
earlier. The
good news is
that there are
more jacks --
2-year-old fish
that will go
back to sea and
return this fall
and in 2008 --
in the river
this year than
there have been
since the early
1980s.
The jacks put a
bright light on
the future, said
California
Department of
Fish and Game
senior biologist
Larry Hanson.
An estimate on
how many fish
are expected to
return to the
river this fall
is being
formulated by a
technical team
in Portland,
Ore., this week.
That will drive
what kind of
sport and
commercial
salmon seasons
will be set for
much of the West
Coast this
coming year. It
will follow last
year's
disastrous
commercial and
crimped sport
fishing seasons.
Tracy said that
it appears that
the season could
again be meager,
since commercial
fishers
generally catch
more 4-year-old
fish than
3-year-old fish.
The number of
jacks indicates
there will be
plenty of
3-year-old fish,
probably good
for the 2008
season.
Frankly, we
don't know,
Tracy said. The
Salmon Technical
Team will start
talking about
it. They'll be
cranking through
numbers as to
what the
forecasts are
and how that
plays into
allocations of
various
fisheries.
Estimates last
year put the
loss to the
commercial
fishing industry
at about $80
million. It
prompted the
U.S. secretary
of commerce to
declare a
fisheries
disaster after
significant
political
pressure from
West Coast
states.
The action to
shut the
commercial
fishery and
limit tribal and
sport fishing
may have paid
off with nearly
10,000 more fish
reaching the
river to spawn
than were
projected.
Everybody
suffered last
year, said Jimmy
Smith, 1st
District
Humboldt County
supervisor and
sport fishing
representative
to the council.
They were able,
through that
sacrifice, to
get more fish
back in the
river.
An informational
meeting is
scheduled for
Feb. 28 in
Humboldt County.
The first
proposals for
managing this
year's fisheries
will be
developed in
March. Public
hearings on the
options will be
held in late
March, and the
council will
choose a plan in
April, which
will go on to be
finalized by the
National Marine
Fisheries
Service.
Eureka
commercial
fisherman Dave
Bitts said some
of the best
years for
spawning have
been when the
number of
spawners to
reach the river
are relatively
low. Conditions
in the river --
which suffers
chronic disease
and water
quality problems
and in dry years
low flows -- are
key for the
juvenile fishes'
survival. So is
the availability
of food in the
ocean.
Bitts said it
does not appear
that federal
agencies will
intervene to
deal with the
problems in the
river, but
expected that
fishermen will
once again bear
the brunt for a
problem for
which they're
not responsible.
Hammer the
fishermen, Bitts
said. That seems
to be the
federal policy.
John Driscoll
can be reached
at 441-0504 or
jdriscoll@times-standard.com. |
