So few salmon are swimming in California and Oregon that salmon fishing season is likely to be canceled completely unless an emergency exemption is granted, according to the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council. The states’ salmon season, which traditionally runs from April to mid-November, has never been entirely canceled before. Even with a complete closure, fishery experts estimate that 59,100 chinook salmon will spawn this fall in California’s Central Valley rivers, far below officials’ minimum conservation goal of 122,000 fish. The council will make a final decision in April, affecting some 1,000 commercial fisherfolk, California’s $4 billion recreational fishing industry, and hungry pescetarians.
