treat, coming off years in which North Bay fishers have pivoted to other species such as cod and other rockfish. While noting the fish allocations are fewer than in years prior to 2022, every little bit counts. Fishing stocks have long been hindered by dams, ocean trends and low water flows due to drought as well as diversions to send the precious commodity to farming and city interests. The stocks have begun to rebound, with nearly 400,000 salmon now running the Sacramento River. The drought season that spanned from 2020 to 2022 prompted a major competition for water, resulting in plummeting populations. But shortly thereafter, the winter of 2022–23 hit California with a vengeance, creating a surge in fish returning to spawn. California Fish and Wildlife Senior Environmental Scientist Chester Lindley said the numbers and policies are rooted in a scientific formula designed to measure success for the prized fish as it navigates harsh river and ocean conditions. Salmon are born in freshwater rivers and swim to sea for a few years. They return to inland waters to spawn. Still, Lindley acknowledges salmon fishing represents a crucial livelihood for a historic industry, along with California Native American tribes. The largest state, the Yurok Tribe based in Humboldt County — bases its culture on survival of the salmon that dominate Klamath River waters. As for salmon seasons continuing each year, Lindley insisted that’s “the goal,” if the stocks are managed well. “I’m just glad there’s opportunity for everyone. The hope is it continues,” he said.
Northern California retailers are also excited about the season relaunch as fishing stakeholders, restaurateurs and business groups. Mike Weinberg-Lynn, who owns Osprey Seafood of Napa with a satellite location in San Francisco, looks forward to offering fresh local salmon again. “This will be huge. It’s a huge item in the market,” he said. As much as Weinberg-Lynn relishes the thought of selling the seafood commodity, he understands the nuances involved in balancing environmental needs with business desires. “Let’s not push it and try to save the fishery. This is a conversation we have constantly,” he said. Salmon population declines have resulted in an all-hands-on- deck strategy involving a multitude of stakeholders to ensure the recovery of the fish for generations to come. “Seeing our salmon populations recover is incredibly heartening and demonstrates what’s possible when we all work together — state and federal partners, tribes, sport anglers and commercial fishing interests, NGOs and others — to do what’s best for salmon,” Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel stated, characterizing salmon as “part of the cultural fabric of California.” One win, one loss California Fish and Wildlife also announced the temporary closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery on April 30 due to the risk of crabbing gear entangling whales. The season technically started Nov. 1, 2025 and runs through June 30, 2026. Effective May 7, authorized alternative equipment labeled “pop up gear” that stays on the sea floor may be used in the region. Researchers tasked with studying the presence of humpback whales observed 66 of them in fishing zone No. 3. This area covers the ocean waters from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line south to Pigeon Point near San Mateo County. Warmer ocean temperatures by 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit are driving the whales closer to the shoreline in what experts are calling ‘habitat compression.’ The shift in whale behavior puts them in a collision course with fishing gear that has lines to the surface, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration scientists say. The whales feast on nutrients found in anchovies that become more plentiful with warmer-than-usual ocean temps. “This tends to draw the whales in, but this is where the fishermen put traps,” NOAA Fisheries spokesman Michael Milstein said. The coming of El Niño, a tropical weather phenomenon that forms warmer ocean temperatures off the South America coast, may complicate matters too. “We’re kinda concerned if El Niño comes on top of (the already raised temperatures),” he said. g
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Where Ideas Are Born 2026
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