No More Salmon fishing in Central Valley

[Pound]

Well.... almost no more...

A friend just sent this to me. Not too sure if its been discussed yet, but here it goes.

Pound

>>> DFG News 5/28/2009 3:08 PM >>>
California Department of Fish and Game News Release
Date, May 28, 2009

Contact: Scott Barrow, Fisheries Branch, (916) 445-7600
Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962

Catch and Release Salmon Fishing No Longer Allowed in the Central
Valley Basin

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has begun enforcing new
recreational salmon fishing regulations for the Central Valley Basin.
Catch and release fishing that intentionally targets salmon is now
illegal in any river or stream closed to salmon fishing. DFG staff will
be notifying anglers and posting information about the new regulations
in the area and violators are subject to a fine of up to $1,000.

“These changes were necessary to increase protection for Sacramento
River fall run Chinook populations, which have drastically decreased in
the last few years,” said DFG Fisheries Branch Chief Neil Manji.
“The Sacramento River fall run Chinook are projected to just meet
minimum escapement levels for 2009. We need this new measure to ensure
that the stock will continue to recover.”

The new rule was adopted by the Fish and Game Commission on April 21
and went into effect on May 26. The previous regulation, which specified
a zero-salmon bag limit in Central Valley rivers and tributaries, was
replaced with language that states these areas are “closed to salmon
fishing” and “no take or possession of salmon” is allowable. This
eliminates catch and release fishing that targets salmon throughout most
of the year.

The regulations make an exception for a limited late-fall run
recreational fishery. For the second year, fishing on the Sacramento
River will be allowed from November 16 to December 31, but only from
Knights Landing to the Red Bluff Diversion Dam. The daily bag and
possession limit will be one salmon during this period.

The remaining rivers and tributaries of the Central Valley Basin, which
include the Feather, American and San Joaquin rivers along with all of
their tributaries, will remain closed to salmon fishing year-round.

Fish and Game Code Section 1.80 defines “take” as “hunt, pursue,
catch, capture or kill fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, crustaceans
or invertebrates or attempting to do so.” For more information
regarding inland sport fishing regulations and the 2009 California
salmon fishery, please visit DFG’s Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov.

[Ed Wahl]

Excellent.

With the salmon numbers next to zilch, there's no arguable grounds for allowing harassment of the surviving spawners.

Ed

[Mrs.Finsallaround]

As far as I'm concerned, this is just clarification of the original intent.... Leave the salmon alone until they recover!

Sad that some anglers had to take advantage of the loophole.

[Chris Gearhart]

I wonder if new enforcement would stop those of us who like to fish for the steelies that lie behind those salmon. I am all for protecting the few remaining salmon but I would loose my mind if I was sitting home come October and November.

Chris

[wjorg]

Department of the Foundering Gamefishes, aka DFG, will probably give you a ticket if you even look at Steelhead behind the Salmon. They want the money.

[okisutch]

I'm not familiar with the regs for these fisheries but 0 limit means catch and release. For example, the steelhead streams on the coast that are C&R only, they have a 0 limit. So, 0 limit for salmon was actually catch and release fishery and it's great they made it explicit.

DFG needs to a better job of getting its rules across to the general public. The "take" definition is very clear in including any kind of catching of a fish but its a different definition from popular usage. Popular usage of take, e.g. put and take fishery, makes people think that take means keeping or limit. So, no take means no keeping. One good example: Brian Hoffman a few years back relayed to his readers that the take of sturgeon might be closed, which, he said, meant that you'd only be able to catch and release. That's no goood.

The DFG should use popular usage in its regs or clarify in the regs in plain, everyday language whether a water is catch and release only or closed completely.