Coastside Fishing Club, a locally based community of recreational fishermen, has successfully homed in pens on Pillar Point Harbor. Paul Pierce, who sits on the board of Coastside Fishing Club, said that it’s not just for the club, but for anyone coming over to the coast wanting to fish salmon.
He said that California’s anglers are looking for the improvement in the stocks of salmon after the seasons in 2008 and 2009 were canceled. One option is net pens. The San Francisco Tyee Club in Tiburon has been raising baby salmon, or smolts, since 1973, and the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project has been at it since 1976.
Pierce said that there are no local streams where the fish would stray and that is the reason the club chose Pillar Point because it has support from local commercial fishermen and the harbor district. The idea behind the pens is to truck the smolts to Pillar Point Harbor, explained district General Manager Peter Grenell. This would allow them to bypass 200 miles of dangerous river travel.
Duncan MacLean, who fishes off of a commercial vessel, the Barbara Faye, notes that pen projects have been successful in other areas and could be a great thing for Pillar Point. He added that this project would bring more fish to the ocean but one big problem is the mortality from the hatcheries out to Golden Gate.
