The Pacific Fishery Management Council has announced the cancellation of the 2023 fishing season for both commercial and recreational salmon fleets in California.
The decision comes in response to severely low fish populations, which have been attributed to three years of drought, low river levels, and hot, dry conditions.
Although the decision to close the season still requires approval from the National Marine Fisheries Service, it is expected to be granted in May. In the meantime, California Governor Gavin Newsom has requested a Federal Fishery Disaster Declaration from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to provide assistance to those affected by the canceled season.
The Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) claims that the decline in salmon populations is due to California's land-use and water-management policies, which they argue favor agriculture over salmon.
San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental advocacy organization, has echoed this sentiment, accusing the Newsom administration of waiving requirements for dam operators to provide enough cold water for salmon egg incubation.
However, Governor Newsom has disputed the idea that recent water management decisions are to blame for the declining salmon populations, stating that the conditions that led to the season closure occurred three years ago.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Jordan Traverso supported Newsom's assertion, explaining that it was the drought conditions three years ago, not recent water management decisions, that made the salmon's journey perilous and resulted in the current population decline.
