2016 salmon season looks grim

Curry Pilot – by Jane Stebbins

Oregon salmon fishermen might face a second consecutive dismal season, after forecasts call for diminished numbers of fish due to drought in California and its subsequent political battles and water diversions to protect agricultural interests.

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council has outlined three season alternatives for commercial troll fishermen, all of which portend heavy restrictions to come.  

“We’ve been hearing that, and most of the time, it rings true,” said Jeff Cox, owner of the fishing vessel Ann, of Brookings, of the limited season.

“We all saw it coming. Without the water, we knew we were in trouble.”

Under the two most extreme alternatives proposed by the management council, the commercial season would open April 8 and run through May 31 in waters from Humbug Mountain to the California border. All salmon can be taken except coho, and all fish must be at least 28 inches in length.

The first and most optimistic alternative is less stringent, with the season starting April 8 and ending May 31. It would then begin anew June 5 to 10 and 15 to 30 or until a quota of 700 Chinook are caught. The season would start again July 8 to July 31, or when a quota of 500 fish is met, whichever comes first. And it would open again Aug. 8 to 12 and 18 to 24 or when 200 fish are caught.

Further closures, however, could be announced as the season goes on, according to the Golden Gate Salmon Association. The organization represents numerous stakeholders in the fishing industry, including those in Oregon.

Some 60 percent of the Chinook salmon caught off the coast of Southern Oregon originate in Central California rivers. Currently, California’s salmon industry is valued at $1.4 billion in economic activity annually, and about half that in Oregon.

Fish vs. agriculture

To blame for the strict rules this year is a four-year drought in California and subsequent water diversion from salmon streams to agriculture in the Central Valley.

Additionally, 97 percent of the wild winter-run fingerling salmon that spawn in the river below the Shasta Dam died in too-warm conditions created by a lack of water in streams, the National Marine Fisheries reported. The repercussions from that, however, won’t be seen for another four years when those salmon return to spawn.

This could mark the second consecutive year that the vast majority of juvenile winter-run Chinook died as they tried to make it from the Sacramento River to the ocean. In 2014, only 5 percent of the juveniles survived.

This year, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council forecasts there will be almost 300,000 fall-run king salmon in the ocean off the coasts of California and Oregon. That compares to more recent averages of 600,000 fall-run Chinook.

“There’s no doubt there’s widespread concern,” said John McManus, GGSA executive director.

Jennifer Simon, an environmental scientist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said just 142,000 Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon are expected to be available to catch this year, a third of last year’s estimates.

“Meager — probably non-existent,” said Bill Woods, who pilots the fishing vessel Melissa from the Port of Brookings Harbor. “I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be good. They’ve taken all the water out of the rivers. Salmon need water.”

He said last year’s season was tough because the salmon were lingering at a depth of 70 fathoms — just above the hake fish whose juveniles they eat. Salmon were subsequently landed as bycatch by hake fishermen, further reducing the number of fish available, Woods said. 

“We never got to see them,” he added. “It happens quite often, especially when the fish are all that deep. Last year was predicted to be the greatest year in the whole world. But it was horrendous, actually.” 

“It’s a 1-2-3 punch,” said Tim Sloane, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “We had a pretty poor 2015 season. We’ve had zero income from crabbing, and now we’re looking at 2016 that’s projected to be — just by sheer numbers in the ocean — half what 2015 was.”

“Fishing was so-so; not so good, Cox said of last year’s catch. “It could definitely be less than last year, which is going to be tough.”

Drought

And while Oregon and Northern California have been doused by rain this winter, Central California is looking like it will face a fifth year of drought.

Only 83 percent of average snowpack, with 19 percent content, was reported in the mountains as of March 1. The snowpack is critical to fill reservoirs before the dry season begins. Also, if warmer-than-average conditions continue, that snowpack could melt early, leaving little runoff to fill those basins.

“These (issues) have greatly decreased the survival of wild salmon eggs and juveniles,” McManus said. “The projection for 2016 salmon makes clear the damage done by water diversions and drought the last several years.”

The last time this happened was in 2006 to 2008, when the fishery almost collapsed after too few salmon returned to spawn and regulators canceled entire fishing seasons.

Hatchery fish might save the season — or at least help a little.

“We’d almost certainly be looking at a fishing closure in 2016 but for the work of the salmon association that got more hatchery fish trucked to safe release sites starting in 2014,” said GGSA founder Victor Gonella. “The trucking made the difference in survival for many of the fish now out in the ocean. The forecast isn’t great but it should allow for a responsible fishing season while leaving enough fish to reproduce this year.”

http://www.currypilot.com/News/Local-News/2016-salmon-season-looks-gri

Smith River Stealhead

Guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing holds a trophy Smith River steelhead caught and released earlier this month by client Sam Scarborough of Corvallis, who used roe cured with Pautzke’s BorXOFire