Most of the commercial fishermen in Half Moon Bay returned from a day of fishing this spring with good catch of salmon. Commercial salmon season began a weeks long hiatus May 31 that will extend through June 25. Then the season opens back up until July 5, at which point fish can be caught within specific five-day windows. Then it’s open most of August.
These rules are written into the California Department of Fish and Game’s commercial salmon regulations for 2011. If the season sounds spotty, the catches have been even more so. Pillar Point angler Jim Anderson explained a scenario similar to last year, in which fishermen encounter patchy populations of salmon. He said that it is incredibly frustrating for people to be right next to a person and have the fish.
According to Webb the predicament is likely linked to the equipment used and the depths at which anglers are fishing. He told that some of the fish must be returned, the small ones and the endangered coho or silver salmon are thrown back. Local fishermen are thankful that the per-pound price for salmon was reasonably good. They make $8 to $9 off the boat and about $6.50 when selling to a wholesaler.
