TheFishSite Latest News
Salmon Population Nears All Time Low for California
SAN FRANCISCO — The number of chinook salmon returning to California's Central Valley has reached a near-record low, pointing to an "unprecedented collapse" that could lead to severe restrictions on West Coast salmon fishing this year, writes Terence Chea.
According to federal fishery regulators the sharp drop in chinook, or "king," salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall is part of broader decline in wild salmon runs in rivers across the West.
Reports by the Associated Press say that the population dropped more than 88 per cent from its all-time high five years ago, according to an internal memo sent to members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Regulators are still trying to understand the reasons for the shrinking number of spawners; some scientists believe it could be related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming.
Some fishermen and environmentalists believe the sharp decline is related to increased water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, which supplies drinking water to millions of people in dry Southern California, as well as irrigation for America's most fertile farming region.
"It's time to reduce pumping of delta waters before we destroy the fish and wildlife species we appreciate so much in California," said Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.
To read the full story click here.
TheFishSite News Desk
Latest Industry News
Omega Proteins Rise in 2nd Quarter
Vietnamese Seafood Could Find New Home in Russia
New Fisheries Body Brings New Hope to Ghana
2nd Chance for 7000 SIDR-hit Fishermen in Patuakhali
EU Fleets Deployed to Rescue Cod and Tuna- Capitalism Killing the Sea
SFF Renews Call for Fuel Crisis Aid
Bahrain Restocking the Sea with Sea Bream
IFA: Government Sinking Aquaculture Sector
MRAG Opens Asia Pacific Office
