Thursday Top of the Scroll: California bans salmon fishing on rivers for a second year
California regulators have decided to ban fishing for chinook salmon on the state’s rivers for a second year in a row, in effort to help the species recover from major population declines. The unanimous vote by the California Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday follows a similar decision last month to prohibit salmon fishing along the California coast this year. The decision will shut down the recreational salmon fishing season along the Sacramento, American, Feather, Mokulumne, Klamath and Trinity rivers, among others. State officials have said salmon are struggling because of factors such as reduced river flows during the severe drought from 2020-2022, the effects of climate change, harmful algae blooms, and shifts in the species’ ocean diet. Fishing advocates blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration, arguing that the state has been sending too much water to farms and cities, and depriving rivers of the cold flows salmon need to survive.
Related article:
