salmon closures again for 2009?

[littles]

I've been reading early reports of low salmon returns on the west coast again and some areas being closed to fishing already. This also happened last year in a lot of places right up the west coast which makes me wonder if some sort of environmental or ecological change that's getting to them in the oceans.

It's still a little early so there's time for things to turn around, all i can do is hope.

[CAangler]

I'm new here, but also from CA. BTW, I recently researched and did a 10 page report on the dwindling salmon returns of the Sacramento River for my college English class last fall. There are several reasons for the declining salmon population, and it's mostly in the Sacramento River. We're experiencing a drought out here and have been for years. For the salmon to maintain a population, they need cold water and lots of it to migrate up high enough in the Sac tributaries to spawn. When the spring melts the meager amount of snow in the Sierras and there isn't enough water to get the salmon far enough up, they have a tendency to just spawn further downriver, which isn't good. Also, those eggs that do hatch have to get past dozens of pumping stations that provide water to millions of acres of farmland in Central CA. That's a short version. The salmon issues further up north in Oregon, WA and Alaska aren't quite as serious, but they deal with different issues, like overfishing (foreign trawlers, seals, etc). Hope this helps. Yes, you could say it is an ecological change, then.

[littles]

I see. thanks for the input on that. I guess i haven't researched it at all, but the recent fisheries closures worry me. ...the one that triggered this post was reading about the king closures at ship creek in Anchorage which is a very popular spot. there will be a lot of bummed out fishermen there.

[littles]

I see. thanks for the input on that. I guess i haven't researched it at all, but the recent fisheries closures worry me. ...the one that triggered this post was reading about the king closures at ship creek in Anchorage which is a very popular spot. there will be a lot of bummed out fishermen there.