CLOSED!

Salmon fishing closed... As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning;
Our redoubtable Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to spend the sum of "about $5.3 million" for salmon restoration projects. Gee! Thats about the same amount the state of California spends yearly filling the bay waters with the fish that prey on juvenile salmon as they (try) to make their way from the remnants of the Sacramento River system to the Pacific. Perhaps the millions of salmon eaten yearly by the intrusive Striped Bass might better be allowed to return to the ocean, to grow and mature and perhaps return to spawn. Growing more

salmon

only to feed them to the

Bass

seems to be an exercise in futility. But then, no more futile than to try to get the state to leave enough water in the rivers to support the native fish populations.

This after two decades of "management" of the Salmon Fishery by PFMC (Pacific Fisheries Management Council); a conglomerate of federal/state/local government entities and a fairly incredibly large number of groups known collectively as "stakeholders", there are no salmon left to catch. The council is tasked with a lot of decisions, among them setting of season, quota, and fishtaking methods for various fisheries. It's a somewhat contentious process, since what I manage to get allocated for my group is fish that you don't get allocated for your group. I consider the PFMC to be at fault for a lot of the problems, while acknowledging that there's a lot of factors they are forbidden to touch. Like the farmers who break into the pumps and take water that was allocated to fish (yes, fish do need water to survive). Like the Southern California water interests whose importance is conditional on their ability to guarantee plush green lawns throughout the arid southland. And face it: there are more people in Los Angeles who want a green lawn than there are who want a Salmon Steak for dinner.
At any rate, here's what PFMC said. Closed:

1. Sacramento Basin recreational fishery allocation: Closed to retention of adult salmon.
2. Klamath River recreational fishery allocation: 22,500.
3. Klamath tribal allocation: 27,000.
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt.
• Closed in 2008 (C.9).
In 2009, the season will open March 15 for all salmon except coho. This opening could be modified following Council review at
its March 2009 meeting.
Humbug Mt. to OR/CA Border (Oregon KMZ)
• Closed in 2008 (C.9).
In 2009, the season will open March 15 for all salmon except coho. This opening could be modified following Council review at
its March 2009 meeting.
OR/CA Border to U.S./Mexico Border
Closed.

Remember when they used to say:
"Give a man a fish - feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish - feed him for a lifetime."
How soon the endless bounty runs out.