Feds weigh ban on salmon fishing
With salmon populations slumping off the West Coast, federal regulators could act as soon as Thursday to adopt a historic commercial fishing ban off Oregon and California.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Monday began a weeklong meeting in Seattle to decide the fate of the salmon season.
The council is considering three options, including an outright ban that would be the first in more than 150 years of salmon fishing off the coast.
Also off limits would be the Sacramento River, which until recently was the most reliable spawning ground in the West.
A second option also bans commercial salmon fishing but would authorize hiring anglers for a catch-and-release program to collect genetic samples.
The third option would allow a short commercial and recreational season.
Federal scientists have blamed the salmon slump on poor ocean conditions. But many fishermen and environmentalists say water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have wreaked havoc on fish migrating past giant aqueduct pumps.
-- Eric Bailey
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
