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BODEGA BAY
April 21, 2018
Headlines |
Rockfish Opens
Salmon to Open June 17th |
Party
boats have been getting
out for rockfish with
good results. After
fishing high winds and
tough action on Thursday
4-19 the conditions
improved Rick Powers
reported the fish
were chomping on Friday
4-20. Rick on the Friday
ran south to Point Reyes
and reported 34 limits
of quality browns,
coppers, quillback and
other mostly bottom
grabbers adding two
lings. Rick said that
with the big swell
earlier in the week the
lings just weren't
cooperating but should
as the winds back off.
The forecast calls for
breezy weather through
the weekend with much
better conditions
forecasted for next
Monday through
Wednesday.
The
PFMC released the final
west coast salmon
seasons on Tuesday April
19th. For Bay Area
anglers the season
begins on June 17th and
closes October 31st. The
minimum size will be 20
inches for the entire
season. This is about a
40% deduction in "time"
compared to the past few
years. I for one, (who
usually has a more
pessimistic view) think
this season could
surprise to the upside.
The reason is the large
number of two year old
fish we saw last season
and that more fish
continue to be trucked
verses being released
direct from the
hatcheries. Add in big
water flows over the
2016 / 2017 winter I'm optimistic about the
2019 season as well.
The rockfish season
opens this Sunday April 15th. Rick on
the New Sea Angler will
be offering rockfish and
ling cod trips. Rick
will begin his rockfish
/ salmon combos in June
when the salmon season
gets underway. Jeff
Caramella will be at the
helm of the Samantha
Irene as he is still
looking to purchasing
his own boat.
Salmon
season setting process
is underway
The
salmon season setting
process is underway and
the news is a mix of
"the good (Klamath jack
counts way up), the bad
(Sac Valley projections)
and the ugly (government
spin)".
Ocean abundance
estimates for the Sac
Valley are nearly
identical to last year
at 230,000 fish for
2018. This is the
forecasted number of
adults in the ocean at
this time and below
what is needed to allow
for a full season by
sport and recreational
anglers. (I am rounding
all numbers for this
story).
The good news is that
the Klamath saw far
higher jack counts than
expected and the adult
ocean adundanace
forecast estimates there
are 359000 swimming off
the west coast.
California fishery
managers want us to
believe that drought and
the old standby term of
"poor ocean conditions"
are solely to blame.
This is where I call
bullshit.
Yes, drought has had a
severe impact on our
fisheries but so has the
complete mismanagement
of water releases from
our states largest
reservoirs.
In 2014, federal and
state biologists
estimate that 95% of the
upper Sacramento river
salmon spawn died in the
gravel or soon after
emerging due to too hot
of flows being released
from Shasta dam.
Despite promising to "do
better" in 2015 they
killed an estimated 98%
(again state and federal
figures) of all juvenile
salmon in the upper Sac
river. Once again they
had depleted the cold
water pool in Shasta
lake that is used for
salmon in the late Fall.
They placed the blame on
a faulty temperature
device that monitors the
cold water pool
available for salmon. News came out
later that
this device has been
known to be have been
broken or inaccurate for
several years. So what
happened to the cold
water reserve of
salmon? It was sent south
to irrigate crops grow
in the desert. In a
nutshell politicians
placed a higher priority
on almonds than our
iconic salmon runs.
Pictured above: from the
Deck of the Salty Lady
in June of 2017. These
fish are all very fat
and healthy and show no
signs of poor ocean
conditions.
The low return of upper
Sac salmon this past
Fall was spun by
California Fish and
Wildlife as too many
hatchery fish being
trucked and they got
confused on their
return. Again I have to
call BS. In fact the
only reason we had a
season at all last year
is that fish were
trucked during the
drought. It's estimated
that well north of 90%
of the entire 2017 ocean
catch was of hatchery
origin. This is due to
the fact that the Bauru
of Reclamation killed
all wild stocks due to
the release of lethally
hot flows onto the Sac
spawning beds. You can
expect the same in 2018.
The CDFW news release
just below starts
with the headline of
drought and poor ocean
conditions. In reality
party boat and
commercial operators
have all said they saw
excellent conditions off
the North and Central
coasts while poor
conditions were reported
off Oregon and
Washington.
In addition, the
federally run Coleman
hatchery has an abysmal
survival record. While
our state hatcheries see
1 to 2% plus returns of
adults, the return to
Coleman runs at .01 to .05.
This is due in part of
their refusal to truck
fish in most years or to
develop release
strategies that our
state hatcheries have
shown to work. Acoustic
tagging studies show an
astounding 65% of all
smolts released from
Coleman are lost in the
first 70 miles and fewer
than 5% make it to SF
bay. Add in the huge
losses at the Delta
pumps and you can see
that drought and ocean
conditions are more
factor than cause.
The Golden Gate Salmon
Association is pushing
for changes.
These include:
Reserves of Shasta lake
cold water pool
maintained for both
Winter and Fall salmon.
Stop the dewatering of
redds on the upper Sac
and smooth Fall water
releases so that wild
salmon survive.
Adopt new hatchery
release procedures and
coordinated pulse flows
timed with hatchery
releases to improve
juvenile survival.
Eliminate predator
hot-spots including the
areas where night
lighting attracts both
out migrating salmon and
predators like striped
bass.
Rebuild side channels so
young salmon have a
place to grow.
Close or build a barrier
at the Delta cross
channel gates.
Adopting these changes
will help rebuild our
salmon runs.
You can support our
salmon fisheries by
attending a GGSA dinner
or join as a member and
receive their quarterly
newsletter highlighting
what they are
accomplishing. All
monies raised by GGSA
goes directly to
rebuilding our salmon
runs. You can learn more
about their mission,
recent accomplishments
and to donate here.
Golden Gate Salmon
Association
Over the next few weeks
we will receive
additional info on what
to expect as far as
seasons from the PFMC. I
feel that Central Coast
saltwater and Central
Valley river anglers
could be disappointed
while those on the North
Coast could be in for a
pleasant surprise. In
about a week we should
see the season options
from the PFMC.
Mike Aughney
California’s Drought,
Poor Ocean Conditions
Impact Salmon Forecast
for 2018
Commercial and sport
anglers received mixed
news today regarding the
status of Sacramento
River fall Chinook and
Klamath River fall
Chinook – California’s
two largest Chinook
salmon populations.
While adult returns of
both stocks were well
below minimum escapement
goals in 2017, and
projected abundance for
both stocks is modest
compared to historic
averages, state and
federal fishery
scientists reported an
increase in the number
of jacks (two-year-old
Chinook) that returned
to spawn in 2017. Higher
jack returns, as seen in
2017, can indicate the
potential for increased
abundance of adult
(three years old or
older) Chinook for 2018
fisheries.
Forecasts presented at
today’s annual Salmon
Information Meeting
suggest there are
229,400 Sacramento River
fall Chinook adults in
the ocean this year,
along with 359,200
Klamath River fall
Chinook adults. While
the Sacramento River
fall Chinook forecast is
comparable to last year,
there are greater
numbers of Klamath River
fall Chinook projected
to be in the ocean in
2018. Fall Chinook from
these runs typically
comprise the majority of
salmon taken in
California’s ocean and
inland fisheries.
The effects of the
recent drought are still
impacting California’s
salmon populations.
Outbound juvenile
Chinook suffered
unusually high mortality
because of low flows and
high water temperatures
in both the Sacramento
and Klamath watersheds
in 2014 and 2015.
Unsuitable river
conditions, coupled with
persistently poor ocean
conditions during the
same period, resulted in
very low numbers of
adult Chinook returning
to spawn in both the
Klamath and Sacramento
River basins in 2017.
Over the next two
months, the Pacific
Fishery Management
Council will use the
2018 fall Chinook ocean
abundance forecasts, in
addition to information
on the status of
endangered Sacramento
River winter Chinook, to
set ocean sport and
commercial fishing
season dates, commercial
quotas and size and bag
limits.
At the same time,
fishery managers with
the California
Department of Fish and
Wildlife (CDFW) will be
working to develop a
suite of recommendations
for the California Fish
and Game Commission (FGC)
to consider on 2018
fishing seasons, size
limits and bag limits
for Chinook salmon river
fishing in the
Klamath/Trinity and
Sacramento River basins.
For more information,
please visit the FGC
Sport Fishing
Regulations website.
For more information on
the process for setting
the California ocean
salmon season or for
general information
about ocean salmon
fishing, please visit
the Ocean Salmon
Project website.
For the latest ocean
salmon season
regulations, please call
the CDFW ocean salmon
hotline at (707)
576-3429 or the National
Marine Fisheries Service
salmon fishing hotline
at (800) 662-9825.
For the latest inland
salmon season
regulations in the
Klamath/Trinity basin,
call (800) 564-6479, and
in the Central Valley,
please visit the CDFW
Freshwater Sport Fishing
Regulations website
“Millions
of
Californians
on
hook
for
water
plan”
Read
at
our
website.
Today, The
Associated Press published
a story confirming
rumors of “expanded funding
demands” for the Delta
Tunnels proposal. New
documents obtained by the
Associated Press reveal that
dozens of local agencies
representing millions of
Californians may be required
to pay for the tunnels, even
though they have not been
asked to participate in the
project, nor would they
receive the “supply
reliability” benefits
promised to CA WaterFix
participants. This follows
years of assurances from the
Brown Administration that
only local water agencies
actively participating in
the tunnels would be the
paying for them.
A telling quote from Santa
Clara Valley Water District
board director Richard
Santos reveals that State
Water Project contractors
have been pressured into
participating in the tunnels
project.
Ellen Knickmeyer and
Scott Smith write,
“Asked if California
intended to cut off state
water deliveries to those
districts that refuse to
help pay for the tunnels,
Lien-Mager said only ‘opting
out would not affect their
existing contracts, but
their actual water supplies
from the SWP could become
less reliable in the
future.’
That message has begun
trickling out as water
agencies around the state
decide whether to raise
rates to pay for the
tunnels.
‘That’s what we’re being
informed — our contract ends
if we don’t participate,’
said Richard Santos, a board
member of the Santa Clara
Valley water district, which
supplies water to Silicon
Valley.
If it plays out that way,
Santos said, he will fight.
‘If they say they’ll cut off
our allocations if we don’t
participate, then let the
courts take it on,’ he
said.”
To read the entire
story, click
here.

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