The 2025 commercial salmon fishing season in California will be closed for a third consecutive year due to declining salmon numbers, with sportfishing also restricted to only a few days in response to the dwindling fish population.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, responsible for West Coast fisheries, had previously warned about the limited salmon fishing prospects in California for this year, primarily attributed to the low projected numbers of fall-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River, often referred to as king salmon.
The big picture: The closure of the commercial salmon fishing season for the third year has sparked concerns about the human, economic, and environmental impact, with the executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association deeming it a “human tragedy” and an “economic and environmental disaster”.
- Commercial and recreational fishing for salmon has been prohibited for the past two years in California due to declining fish stocks, with fishing communities attributing the issue to the impact of a previous drought on waterways and challenging state and federal water management policies that have affected the species’ ability to thrive.
Driving the news: The decline in the Sacramento River fall-run Chinook, historically a significant contributor to ocean salmon harvests off California and Oregon, has been stark over the last five years, leading to drastic measures by the Pacific Fishery Management Council to significantly curtail the commercial salmon fishing season in Oregon as well.
- Factors contributing to the decline in salmon stocks include warm river temperatures and reduced water flows, impacting the ability of salmon to migrate upstream to lay eggs and for young fish to navigate rivers to reach the ocean, with agricultural water diversions deemed as excessive affecting the natural water conditions required for salmon.
