SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A record run of chinook salmon is expected for California's Klamath River basin this year, prompting a federal fishery panel on Friday to suggest that restrictions on the West Coast salmon fishing fleet be eased for the 2007 season.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended a longer season for recreation and commercial salmon fishermen in California and Oregon. The season is expected to run from April to October, which is normal for the industry.
The council makes its recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will issue a final decision about the various West Coast salmon fisheries in April after public hearings.
The move would help beleaguered salmon fishermen a year after the federal government imposed the most restrictive salmon season on record for Oregon and California because of declining stocks in the Klamath River basin.
Commercial fishing was limited by as much as 90 percent along 700 miles of coastline in California and Oregon. The total West Coast commercial catch for 2006 was 12 percent of a typical year's, representing direct losses to fishermen of $16 million.
This year, fishery biologists expect there will be more than 500,000 adult chinook salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to the Klamath River, about five times the number from last year.
"It's better than last year, but we should be having five months of a full season," said Dean Estep, a commercial fisherman from Fort Bragg.
Even with such numbers, commercial fishermen are not likely to reap a bounty. Most of the returning salmon will be three-year-old fish, which under federal guidelines must be thrown back because they are smaller than 27 inches.
The news isn't as good for Washington, where fishery managers are forecasting fewer salmon for the 2007 season in the Columbia River. In addition, new protections under the Endangered Species Act will lead to a reduced season in coastal Washington.
