The proposal means that the fresh local salmon would not be available in stores, restaurants or farmer’s markets. It has been done in the wake of dramatic decline in California’s Central Valley fall-run Chinook populations. Since 2002 the total population of salmons has been dropped by more than 90 percent.
Despite this decline the Pacific Fishery Management Council told that even with such a drastic closure, only an estimated 59,100 Chinook salmon will spawn this fall in California’s Central Valley rivers, including the Sacramento, American and Feather. Duncan MacLean, a commercial fisherman from Half Moon Bay, said that the proposal is not effective as there is no way you can divide up the fish available and end up with any kind of fishery.
Pete Lawson, a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, told that the main reason of salmon declining population was due to the changing in ocean caused by global warming. After the decision of the council the state and federal governments will impose that recommendation as formal fishing rules in the waters they control.
It is said that the federal rules could force the council to call for total closure because the predicted Central Valley run for this fall is so low.
