After three years of disastrous fishing season commercial fishermen of Pacific salmon fishery to start untangling their nets and greasing their reels. Experts said that the prized king salmon fishery is back, and in numbers that ensure plenty will remain to spawn in freshwater streams this fall. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which overseas offshore fisheries in California, Oregon and Washington, set May 1 as the opening of the commercial salmon fishing season – the first robust season since 2007.
According to the council nearly 750,000 adult, fall-run chinook salmon will ply the coastal waters this season. Even if the full estimate of 250,000 are snared by hooks and nets, that leaves several hundred thousand to return to Central Valley rivers to lay their eggs this autumn. The 14-member council prohibited commercial salmon fishing in California and Oregon for two consecutive years, shutting down processors and bait shops and forcing many fishermen out of business. A much-abbreviated season was approved in 2010.
