Prognosis Not Hot for Klamath Fishing 2005
By John Driscoll, Eureka Times-Standard
February 15, 2005

The outlook for the 2005 salmon fishing season appears bleak, and next week fishing advocates and managers will begin making recommendations on how to deal with the dearth of fish.

There may only be a third as many salmon available to catch this season than last, which could lead to shorter seasons, smaller bag limits and area closures in Northern California. The numbers of salmon anglers will be able to harvest aren't fully worked out.

The Klamath Fishery Management Council will meet at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka on Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Feb. 24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The recommendations will then go to the Fish and Game Commission, which will set regulations.

The regulations aim to ensure that a minimum of 35,000 wild adult chinook salmon are left to run up the Klamath and spawn; that no more than 16 percent of 4-year-old fish are caught in the ocean; and that no more than two-thirds of any age fish are harvested.

For 2004, the actual number of adult salmon in the Klamath fell well below the projected run. Out of a projected 98,600 adult chinook, 79,247 ran up the river. Only 24,247 natural spawners used the Klamath and Trinity rivers -- 10,000 below the bare minimum biologists believe necessary to keep salmon stocks healthy.

"We obviously didn't make it this time around," said Fish and Game Senior Biologist Neil Manji.

The Trinity River saw more salmon than the Klamath this year, and the Klamath saw relatively small numbers of 3-year-old fish. That's how old fish migrating to sea during the parched conditions of spring 2002 were, a year when the majority of juvenile fish trapped were shown to be infected by a deadly disease typically brought on by warm water.

Other rivers in the system also saw low numbers. The Scott and Salmon rivers had the lowest runs on record, at 435 and 530. But Bogus Creek and the Shasta River did not see precipitously low numbers.

Manji said the department is trying to figure out why. Low flows, climatic conditions and the timing of the runs in those rivers are all possible factors, he said.

"We're baffled right now," he said.

Some 4,033 fish were caught by river sport fishermen while 25,578 were caught by tribal fishermen.

As in previous years, the 2005 season will see the total allowable catch of salmon divvied up -- in a rather complicated manner -- among tribes, commercial ocean and sport fishermen, and river sport fishermen. In recent years, the tribes have been allocated half the salmon. The Yurok Tribe has set 12,000 as the minimum quota to sustain its fishery.

Of the remaining fish, 85 percent goes to ocean fishing and is split 83 percent for commercial troll fishing and 17 percent for sport fishing. The other 15 percent goes to river sport fishermen.

That 15 percent could be as little as 1,500 this year, of which 750 would be allowed to be caught below Weitchpec. So some river fishermen are preparing to ask for more than 15 percent, saying the campgrounds and resorts that depend on lower Klamath fishing won't see but a pittance for a season otherwise.

"The season is equated to dollars for businesses in the area," said management council member and fisherman Virginia Bostwick.

She's hoping some fish can be taken from the ocean share to stretch out the Klamath River fishery.

But smaller numbers of fish available to be caught in the ocean could mean a shorter season for sport fishermen, and could keep areas within hundreds of miles of the Klamath closed during critical times to commercial fishermen.

Either way, management council member and Eureka commercial fisherman Dave Bitts doesn't anticipate being able to chase fish much north of San Francisco.

"We could find we're closed from the water where the fish are because of 500 extra fish (for river fishermen)," Bitts said. "You've got to be where the fish are."

Fighting over the last fish is not a long-term survival strategy, he said.

Bitts said problems in the river need attention, especially in light of this year's scant snowpack and with expectations that Upper Klamath Lake won't fill. That could lead to low, hot water in the spring when young fish are especially susceptible to disease, and to hot, slow water in the fall, when adults are trying to migrate.

"We have some serious problems that are going to take all of us working together in the basin," Bitts said, "and it has to do with water quality and water quantity."

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and as defined under the provisions of "fair use", any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment for non-profit research and for educational use by our membership.

Klamath Council Crunches Salmon Numbers
By John Driscoll, Eureka Times-Standard
February 25, 2005

EUREKA -- Faced with grim predictions for the upcoming salmon season, the Klamath Fishery Management Council steered away from drafting recommendations on how to manage the fisheries, opting to generate new information before acting.

At its meeting at the Red Lion Inn Thursday, the council directed its technical team to look at a range of closures to various ocean fisheries and determine their effects on the numbers of fish available to catch in the Klamath River.

Only one thing is clear: There aren't many fish.

"Everyone's going to have a rough year," said Eric Larson, California Department of Fish and Game representative to the council.

It's unlikely that American Indian tribes will meet their stated needs for a subsistence-level fishery, and commercial and sport fishers will suffer as well. That's despite an enormous output of salmon from the Sacramento River, he said, showing the influence of weak Klamath stocks on fishing up and down the West Coast.

Under the ocean regulations set last year, the council has predicted there wouldn't be nearly enough salmon to meet a limit for natural spawners in the river. Even with no fishing, only 42,600 natural spawners can be expected -- a mere 7,600 fish more than the limit.

The council directed the technical team to start with last year's regulations, then begin paring down seasons and other factors until the model shows 35,000 natural spawners will reach their spawning grounds. It can then develop recommendations to regulators.

Models and reality sometimes differ substantially, however.

For example, commercial fishermen last year were predicted to catch just 26,000 Klamath chinook salmon -- but ended up landing 104,000.

"It's a predictor. It's been fairly accurate," Larson said. "There are anomalies. This year was an anomaly."

Just why so many Klamath fish were taken in the ocean was not apparent. There did not appear to be more fishing pressure, and no one zone accounted for a large portion of the excess catch.

Last year's run of fall chinook salmon was among the eight lowest since 1978. At 88,777, the run was dwarfed by the previous years' of 195,793 and 170,014.

Now, with so few predicted for 2005, fishermen may have to take a substantial hit to ensure enough salmon spawn for future years' stocks.

Special concern has been registered by river fishermen, who haven't typically reached their quota of fish and would like to see a longer season, in large part to help a growing tourism economy.

"We do want to keep our fishing season going as long as possible," said Willow Creek fisherman Ed Dugan.

No matter what, limits, seasons or fishing areas are likely to be crimped. The council will likely make recommendations at an upcoming meeting on March 6 in Sacramento.

Hoopa Valley Tribe biologist George Kautsky said a challenging season looms.

"Something's going to have to fall down on the side of conservation," he said.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and as defined under the provisions of "fair use", any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment for non-profit research and for educational use by our membership.