The forecasted adult Sacramento Valley fall-run Chinook salmon population number is only 213,622, according to page 59 of a presentation to be done in Oregon by the state and federal governments today.
This foreshadows the California salmon information webinar coordinated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday, March1. The presentation power point is available at: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/salmon/docs/OSIG_Combined_Presentations_2024.pdf
The original 2023 projection for Sacramento River fall Chinook, the most predominant stock harvested in California's fisheries, was estimated at 169,767 adults, one of the lowest forecasts since 2008 when the current assessment method began.
The 213,622 number is surprisingly low, considering that all ocean recreational and commercial salmon fishing in the ocean and all recreational salmon fishing in California rivers was closed last year. Imagine how low the 2024 projection would be if the recreational and commercial fishermen hadn't pressured the federal and state governments to close salmon fishing in 2023!
“The salmon population would have been much higher if 2024's salmon hadn't been hit by hot water from dams that likely killed millions of incubating #salmon eggs in the upper Sacramento Valley in 2021 and inadequate reservoir releases to safely deliver the juvenile survivors to the ocean in the spring of 2022,” according to the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA).
“The hot water and inadequate spring releases were all from decisions made at the top of government to favor giving salmon water to industrial Central Valley ag corporations. Gavin Newsom could have crafted a different outcome but he didn't,” GSSA noted.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will hold its its annual Salmon Information Meeting via webinar on Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, at 10 a.m. The meeting will provide informational presentations on topics such as last year’s spawning escapement, estimates of forecasted ocean abundance and management goals for 2024 ocean salmon seasons.
Salmon Information Meeting details, informational materials and instructions for attendance will be published in advance of the event on CDFW’s Ocean Salmon Calendar of Events page.
“The 2024 Salmon Information Meeting marks the beginning of a two month long public process used to develop annual sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing regulations and is also used to inform development of inland salmon fishing regulations later in the spring. The process involves collaborative negotiations between west coast states, federal agencies, tribal co-managers and others interested in salmon fishery management and conservation,” the CDFW stated.
California representatives will work together to develop a range of recommended ocean fishing season alternatives at the March 6-11 Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting in Fresno, Calif. Final season recommendations will be adopted at the PFMC’s April 6-11 meeting in Seattle, Wash.
For more information related to the salmon preseason process, including contact information, timeline and other opportunities for public engagement, please visit the CDFW’s Ocean Salmon Calendar of Events page.
