According to Aaron Newman, Chairman of California Salmon Council, this year good numbers of salmon are back. He added that California has traditionally been the leading producing state for troll-caught (hook-and-line) wild king salmon along the Pacific Coast. He informed that this year expected catch is 3 million pounds, which is considerably up from last year.
Salmon population started to decline in 2004 when they were caught 6.2 million pounds. David Goldenberg, Chief Executive Officer of the California Salmon Council said that commercial salmon fishing was disrupted beginning in 2006 when the fishery collapsed due to water diversions in 2002 on the Klamath River which resulted in the loss of Klamath spawning fish.
Another big jolt to the population of salmon came in 2007 and 2008 when the abundant Sacramento River, or Central Valley stocks, were lost to changes in the ocean conditions when juvenile fish were migrating from fresh water. Newman said that as an industry, salmon fishermen were economically harmed by six years of closures or limited fishing opportunities. The coastal economies and infrastructure which rely on fishing were also hard hit.
Newman wants consumers to know that not all salmon are alike. He explained that salmon species vary on where they’re caught, and whether they’re from the ocean or farm-raised. California salmon, or Chinooks, are called ‘kings’ because they are regarded as the most prized, as well as the largest of the five species of Pacific salmon.
