2014 Pacific Salmon Predictions

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) recently released predictions for the 2014 salmon season off the West Coast of the United States.

North of Cape Falcon

The 2014 Columbia River tule Chinook forecasts are improved from 2013 at 110,000, and combined fall Chinook returns are expected to be over a million fish. The hatchery coho forecasts for the Columbia River are greatly improved from 2013. In addition, the forecast for Oregon coastal natural (OCN) coho is 230,000.

North of Cape Falcon, Columbia River hatchery coho returns were 316,000, well below the forecast of 525,000. Columbia River Chinook returns, however, were among the highest on record, and upriver fall Chinook returned at levels nearly double the expected levels.

California and Southern Oregon

Central Valley fall Chinook are forecast at over 630,000, providing salmon fishing opportunity while allowing estimated spawning escapements over 300,000. The minimum conservation goal is 122,000 – 180,000 spawning adult salmon.

The conservation goal, or escapement goal, is the optimal number of adult fish returning to spawn in order to maximize the production of the stock.

Also in California, the ocean abundance forecast for Klamath River Fall Chinook is nearly 300,000, providing reasonable sport and commercial harvest while meeting the minimum natural spawning goal of 40,700, and the 2014 management objective of an ocean harvest rate of no more than 16 percent.

source: Pacific Fishery Management Council

Northern California Marine Protected Areas Guide

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) recently released the Guide to the Northern California Marine Protected Areas.

The full-color guide includes maps with identifiable landmarks, shoreline boundary images and existing regulations for marine protected areas (MPAs) along the northern California coast (California-Oregon state line to Point Arena).

The guide also contains information about northern California MPAs, answers to frequently asked questions, general rules that apply to all MPAs and links to DFG web pages.

Northern California MPAs go into effect Wednesday, Dec. 19. The California Fish and Game Commission adopted regulations in June.

California's regional network includes 19 MPAs, one State Marine Recreational Management Area and seven special closures, covering approximately 137 square miles of state waters and 13 percent of the region.

The guide is available for online viewing and printing at www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/guidebooks.asp

source: California Department of Fish and Game

Pacific Nations Agree to Protect Seafloors from Trawler Damage

In March, 2011, the nations of Canada, the U.S., Russia, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan, met and agreed to the creation of an international organization for managing bottom trawling in over 16.1 million acres of seafloor in the North Pacific.

While the areas where bottom trawling can take place around many of these nations is restricted to protect hard structure, there has been a growing concern about expanded trawling around seamounts.

source: Fishlink Sublegals

California Salmon Stocks and Fisheries Public Meeting

The public is invited to testify at an upcoming public meeting about California salmon populations and the 2011 ocean and river salmon fisheries. The 2011 Salmon Information Meeting, sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), will be held March 1 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency Building located at 404 Aviation Boulevard in Santa Rosa.

The rebound of Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon in 2010 has sparked intense public interest in the possibility of less restrictive salmon seasons this year. Preliminary data indicates approximately 125,300 adult fall Chinook and 27,500 jacks returned to the Sacramento River Basin. In 2009, the returns of adult Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon were an all time low of approximately 39,500 and all salmon seasons were closed. Limited fishing seasons were held in 2010.   

Salmon biologists and managers will provide the latest information on California salmon escapement in 2010 and the outlook for ocean and river Chinook fisheries in the coming 2011 season, including the possibility of an April 2 opener for sport fisheries south of  Horse Mountain.

They will discuss data that shows, for the first time since 2003, that Sacramento and Klamath rivers fall Chinook salmon stocks both exceeded their minimum spawner goals of 122,000 and 35,000 adults, respectively. In 2010, more than 37,200 Klamath River fall Chinook adults returned to spawn in natural areas. 

A California salmon management panel will hear public comment and testimony. The panel is comprised of individuals directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April. The panel includes members of the PFMC, Salmon Technical Team and Salmon Advisory Subgroup.

The input from this meeting will help California representatives negotiate a broad range of season alternatives at the PFMC meeting March 5-10 in Vancouver, Wash. Salmon fishing seasons are developed through a collaborative regulatory process involving the Fish and Game Commission, the PFMC and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

More information on west coast salmon returns and ocean fisheries can be found online in the PFMC's Review of the 2010 Ocean Salmon Fisheries at www.pcouncil.org/salmon/stock-assessment-and-fishery-evaluation-safe-documents/review-of-2010-ocean-salmon-fisheries/.

NOAA Enforces Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule

NOAA recently announced that it is issuing notices of violations proposing civil administrative penalties against seven vessels for allegedly violating seasonal speed limits designed to protect one of the most endangered whales in the world. These civil administrative penalties are the first assessed since the Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule was enacted on Dec. 9, 2008.

Because there are as few as 350 North Atlantic right whales still in existence, the whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Rule restricts vessels of 65 feet or greater to speeds of 10 knots or less in seasonal management areas along the East Coast.

Penalty assessments in these NOVAs range from $16,500 to $49,500, depending on the frequency of the violations. The ships' owners and operators have 30 days to respond to NOVAs by paying the assessed penalty, seeking to have it modified, or requesting a hearing before an administrative law judge.

“Right whales are a highly endangered and important species,” said special agent Stuart Cory, OLE's national program manager for protected resources. “It is important to remind those that use and share the same habitat as right whales that this rule was put into place to protect these mammals. Compliance with this rule is one way NOAA is striving to prevent right whales from extinction. The species' recovery is dependent upon the protection of each remaining whale.”

source: NOAA press release

NOAA Streamlines Gulf Oil Spill Closure Process

NOAA Fisheries Service has announced an emergency rule to expedite the closing and opening of areas affected by the BP oil spill.

To obtain the coordinates of the closed area at any given time, fishermen can visit: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm or call the NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries Division at 727-824-5305 (after-hours message includes the coordinates of the closure).

More closure information can be found at:  http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/.