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Del Norte County meeting discusses uncertain salmon openings; full report expected next month
Summary
Participants at a Del Norte County meeting discussed uncertainty about in-river salmon openings, noted potential offshore openings out of San Francisco, and said a full fisheries report (DIDN) will be presented next month.
Attendees at a Del Norte County meeting discussed uncertainty over this year’s salmon openings for local rivers and the ocean, saying current information covers only through Feb. 12 and that a fuller report will be available next month.
Meeting participants said managers were weighing options that could include no in-river fishing on the Klamath and other rivers this season and that any ocean openings could be limited and managed by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Participants noted that river fisheries are handled by Fish and Wildlife (as described in the discussion), while ocean seasons are typically set by the PFMC.
Those speaking at the meeting described several local observations: volunteers and youth groups took part in fish rescue and release efforts this spring, with one speaker estimating volunteers returned “about 5 to 6,000” fish to a river during a classroom outing, and another noting larger counts — including a reported “37,000 from Battery Point” and several thousand taken from single holes by anglers. A separate participant said bluefin tuna have been observed along the coast feeding on salmon, and sea lions were mentioned as a local predator pressure.
Participants said the committee’s available data currently extend only to the Feb. 12 meeting and that further, consolidated counts and species breakdowns will be shared at the next meeting when staff member Jesse is scheduled to present a full DIDN report covering migrations, sizes and numbers for the last year. No formal votes or motions were recorded on fisheries openings during the session.
The discussion mixed operational observations (fish counts, volunteer releases) with procedural points about who sets which seasons: local in-river fisheries were described as managed by Fish and Wildlife, while the PFMC sets ocean season quotas and openings. Meeting participants requested additional data and signaled interest in an annual accounting of local rescue/release efforts and run sizes.
The group agreed to continue the topic at the next meeting when the DIDN report is available; no regulatory decisions were made at this session.
