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A fisherman shows off the fall-run chinook salmon he caught at Sailor Bar on the American River in October 1999, a year in which 400,000 salmon spawned on the Sacramento River and its tributaries. In 2009, the salmon run fell to a record low of about 39,000.
That hook-and-line connection between man and fish has been banned since 2007 to protect the fall-run chinook salmon amid an unprecedented population decline. While the causes of the decline remain unclear, the ban apparently helped.
This year's run is projected to surge back, and on Wednesday the California Fish and Game Commission is expected to approve limited salmon fishing again in the American, Feather and Sacramento rivers.
It's a moment that seemed impossibly far away in 2007, when anglers such as Sacramento fishing guide J.D. Richey confronted not just one less fishing trip, but a new way of life.
Salmon, as Richey is quick to note, are not just another fish in the sea. They're an important part of the economy and also one of Sacramento's links to natural cycles in the ocean and the world.
"It's been extremely tough with no salmon," said Richey, a Sacramento native and local fishing guide for 13 years. "Until this salmon collapse, I didn't realize how much salmon drove the fishing economy in this area."
The California Department of Fish and Game, which advises the commission, is proposing limited salmon seasons, amounting to only about one month of fishing on each river at different times of year.
The goal is to restore some fishing while ensuring recreational river anglers take no more than 8,200 salmon in total. That number was set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council when it met last week in Portland to reopen ocean commercial fishing for the fall-run chinook – also on a very limited basis.
"Our key concern is to make sure we meet the conservation goal of getting back enough adult fish, and hopefully increase the returns from what we've seen in other years," said Fish and Game spokesman Harry Morse. "We can't have a wide-open season because that would defeat the goal."
The council estimates the total number of salmon returning to spawn in Central Valley rivers this fall will reach 180,000 fish. That's substantially depleted from historical highs, but much better than the record low set last year of about 39,000 salmon.
Yet Richey and others worry about such estimates, because they've proved wrong in the past. Officials had estimated the 2009 run would reach 122,000 salmon.
Richey, one of Sacramento's few remaining professional guides, is torn at the thought of reviving salmon fishing now. Without better evidence of a robust run, he fears fishing could harm the population. And yet the proposed seasons may not yield many fish.
The American River season, for instance, would allow fishing only downstream of Ancil Hoffman Park, and only from Oct. 30 to Nov. 28. Richey said most salmon have passed further upriver by then.
"I just don't want us to catch the last salmon. I want it to be something that's sustainable," he said. "That being said, I guess I will fish if we have a season. I just hope they're right."
The commission has leeway to amend the proposal when it meets Wednesday. The meeting will be held by teleconference starting at 9:30 a.m. at the state Natural Resources Building, 1416 Ninth St., Room 1320.
Salmon are troubled on many fronts. Biologists at the National Marine Fisheries Service believe recent poor ocean conditions likely reduced food supply for salmon but did not rule out negative effects of water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
It is also believed the species has been weakened by years of hatchery breeding.
Their fate has large ripples on the human and natural world. When they die after spawning, decaying salmon feed wildlife and fertilize plants. Yet it has become rare in recent years to spot a rotting salmon carcass on the American River banks.
Similarly, fishing tackle and boat sales, guide services, hotel and restaurant traffic all have been off slightly as a result of the fishing closures.
Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific, said the economic impact of recreational fishing is larger and more dispersed than commercial fishing.
In an April 1 report, Michael estimates the closure of recreational salmon fishing cost California 826 jobs and $70 million annually. The estimate does not break out river versus ocean fishing. Adding commercial fishing boosts the damage to 1,823 jobs and $118 million in revenue.
The appearance of fall-run chinook salmon used to create annual rites like this one at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers near Discovery Park in September 2001.
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