Pacific Council Recommends Longer Commercial Season for California Chinook But Drought Effects Loom
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Marin Independent Journal] By Aaron Kinney - April 17, 2015 -
PRINCETON-BY-THE-SEA, Reflecting optimism about this year’s abundance of chinook salmon, fishing industry regulators on Wednesday approved the longest commercial season in more than a decade. But the state’s record drought has darkened the long-term outlook for one of California’s most valuable fish.
The San Francisco region’s 2015 season will total 138 days between May 1 and Sept. 30, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council decided near the end of a weeklong conference in Rohnert Park.
But as California’s historic drought enters its fourth year, chinook salmon are under duress. Dry winters take a big toll on the fish which need plenty of cold water to make their way out to sea as juveniles and return to lay eggs as adults.
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