Fishery managers voted to cancel the chinook salmon fishing season off the coast of California and most of Oregon in light of the fish population’s rapid collapse. The commercial fishery is worth an estimated $30 million …
… many fishermen considered supporting the ban on West Coast salmon fishing in light of this year’s record low catch. “There’s likely no fish, so what are you going to be fishing for?” said one.
… while some other fishermen went ahead with a pre-season barbeque, although it was less well attended than in past years …
… the federal government and four Northwest Indian tribes reached a settlement that would commit the U.S. to spending $900 million to save salmon in the next decade. Reaction to the plan, which keeps dams in place, was mixed. “It’s a sad day for me,” said the governor of Oregon …
… a biologist considered a plan to save British Columbia salmon by gathering up the juveniles and moving them past fish farms where the wild salmon often are killed or infected by sea lice. She could face a $100,000 fine for doing so …
… a hundred years ago, the Maine salmon season started with this proclamation in the Bangor Daily Commercial: “There will be fishermen on the pools as soon as daylight shines, for a great rivalry exists among the salmon fishermen over the taking of the first salmon … there is a big pecuniary incentive, for the first salmon usually sells for about $1.25 a pound” …
… some estimated the price of wild salmon could hit $40 a pound this year …
… scientists who were conducting genetic tests of wild salmon faced the possibility of having no salmon to test …
… and the champion Irish racehorse Beef or Salmon was set to retire.
