Dwindling salmon populations in California and Oregon rivers have prompted the National Marine Fisheries Service to close commercial and sports fishing season in both states on March 15.
Salmon fishing season will remain closed in California and most of Oregon until 2024.
“This is a decades-long trend, and the past few years of record drought only further stressed our salmon populations,” said Charlton H. Bonham, Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).
After spending years in the ocean, Pacific Chinook salmon return to lay eggs in the freshwater rivers, including the Sacramento and Klamath rivers.
Officials expect only about 170,000 salmon to reach the Sacramento River this year, one of the lowest forecasts since 2008 when they started counting….