Fishing in the Central Valley: Short salmon season is good, but not good enough

It has been more than 2½ years since recreational anglers have been able to target salmon in the ocean.

There is no doubt that a healthy salmon population is essential for the fishing industry as party boats from Monterey to Crescent City filled within hours of learning that there will be salmon fishing this season.

Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excursions in San Francisco said his boat was booked within minutes of the announcement.

“The interest demonstrates the worth of salmon to our industry,”he said. “It shows how much we have lost the past two years along with the minimal open season this year.”

Captain James Smith of the California Dawn 2 out of Berkeley added, “Our phone lines were overwhelmed, and our lines couldn’t handle the volume of calls.”

Yet, the salmon season remains extremely restricted, and only applies to recreational fishing as commercial fishing boats are once again tied to the docks for the third consecutive year.

The 2025 recreational ocean salmon season dates for the California coast are:

• For ocean waters between the Oregon/California state line and the U.S/Mexico border, the season will open June 7-8, with a 7,000 Chinook summer harvest guideline. If the limit is not attained in those two days, the fishery will open again July 5-6. Additional dates are available in late July and August for use until the summer harvest guideline is attained.

• For ocean waters between Point Reyes and Point Sur (portions of the San Francisco and Monterey subareas), the fall fishing season will open Sept. 4-7, with a 7,500 Chinook fall harvest guideline. If this guideline is not attained, the fishery will reopen Sept. 29-30. Additional days are available in October between Point Reyes to Pigeon Point if any of the fall harvest guideline remains.

The seasons will be confirmed when National Marine Fisheries Service take regulatory action to enact the fishing alternative in mid-May, Although the season has created optimism for anglers with some relief for recreational charter boat captains who have yet to receive any of the allocated disaster relief monies for the closed 2023 season, the open dates amount to crumbs as commercial fishermen continue to starve.

While the minimal season has been met with joy from many recreational anglers who will finally have the opportunity to fish for salmon, others believe the season should not have opened.

Wooden boats in northern California harbors are rotting in their slips from lack of maintenance as the owners have not had any money coming in for years.

“A token recreational fishing season provides a much-needed lifeline for tackle and other businesses that rely directly or indirectly on the salmon season, but the sad part is it’s a limited season. Businesses can’t live off a few days of fishing in a year,” Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association said.

According to the GSSA, Central Valley salmon have provided more than $2 billion in economic activity to communities in California and Oregon. The industry has provided 23,000 jobs in California and half of that number in Oregon.

The Sacramento River is the only viable source for salmon since the San Joaquin was dewatered close to 70 years ago, and there are four distinct runs on the Sacramento: winter-run, fall-run, late fall-run, and spring-run. The winter run was listed as threatened in 1989 and upgraded to endangered in 1994 while the spring-run was listed as threatened in 1999 and is currently under consideration for upgrade to endangered. The fall-run is the main source of salmon for California and southern Oregon.

Opening the ocean season provides some relief for the long-suffering businesses and coastal communities dependent upon salmon, but until major changes are made in water management to allow salmon to migrate safely from the spawning grounds and the hatcheries, closed or curtailed seasons designed to save face may be the new normal.

Dave Hurley is a longtime educator, fishing writer and member of the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.

This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Fishing in the Central Valley: Short salmon season is good, but not good enough."