California Chinook Salmon Collapse - 2-Year-Old Male Salmon Count 5% Of Historic Average

[hatrack]

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Only about 90,000 adult salmon returned to the Central Valley to spawn in the fall of 2007, the second lowest number on record. By comparison, 277,000 spawners were counted there a year earlier, and 804,000 in 2002. Even more troubling, only about 2,000 2-year-old male fish, or "jacks," were recorded - the lowest number ever and far below the 40,000 counted in a typical year. Jacks are used to predict returns of adult chinook the next year, so this year's numbers are likely to be even smaller.

Because Central Valley chinook normally make up 90 percent of wild salmon landed in California, and a big share of those caught in Oregon and Washington, it's fishermen who will immediately feel the impact. Craig Barbre, of Morro Bay, said he and his wife took their boat to troll off the coast of Alaska last summer and may have to do the same this year. But with soaring fuel costs, there's no guarantee they can make ends meet.

The anxiety is being felt as far away as Washington state. Although Central Valley salmon only make up a fraction of their catch, fishermen there worry that regulators may limit all West Coast fishing in order to protect the Sacramento stocks.

Even if their fisheries remain open, Washington fishermen could face competition from California and Oregon boats unable to fish their home waters. "The mood here is extremely grim," said Joel Kawahara, 52, of Quilcene, Wash., who relies on salmon for all his income. If there are more fishing restrictions, "for me it would pretty much be an economic disaster."

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http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_8155977?nclick_check=1

[CountAllVotes]

1. maybe if they stopped the fish kills things would change

very sad to see what has happened to the salmon. The Klamath River now looks like a desert almost. It was once a fierce and wild river that no one could possibly contain. Since this time dams have been built, crippling the economies of many Native American tribes that depend on the salmon for their food and economy.

In the meantime, the fish kills continue! :mad:

:kick: