Contact:
Scott Barrow, Fisheries Branch, (916) 445-7600
Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962
A limited recreational fishery season for Central Valley Chinook salmon will open on Nov. 16, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announced today.
From Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, 2009, the fishery will be open on the Sacramento River from 150 feet below the Lower Red Bluff (Sycamore) Boat Ramp to the Highway 113 bridge at Knights Landing. The daily bag and possession limit is one salmon. In April, the Fish and Game Commission approved this very limited fishing opportunity due to the present stable status of the late-fall run.
This fishery provides very limited access to late-fall run Chinook, which are presently not listed as threatened or endangered at either the federal or state level. The season will open after the fall run has migrated upstream past this section of river, and before the winter run arrives. The rest of the Central Valley basin, including the Sacramento, Feather, American and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries, will remain closed to salmon fishing.
DFG biologists conducting the Central Valley Angler Survey will closely monitor angler effort and harvest during this fishery. Anglers are required by law to participate in the survey (FGC Section 8226) and must not fillet their catch before bringing it to shore so that biologists have the opportunity to collect data on the catch and determine the presence or absence of coded wire tags on the fish. Biologists will collect all heads from salmon missing an adipose fin in order to recover the tags, which provide information on the race and origin of the fish and the contribution of hatchery production to the fishery.
The 2009 status of Sacramento River fall Chinook will be determined by DFG and other biologists as the year progresses. Surveys conducted this fall will be used in early 2010 to formulate regulations for the 2010 salmon fishing season. The final results will not be known until all data are collected, assembled and analyzed for review in regulatory processes by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the California Fish and Game Commission.
DFG advises all anglers to be aware of the fishery restrictions before taking to the river. Snagging (impaling or attempting to impale a fish in any part of its body other than the mouth by use of a hook, gaff, bow and arrow, or spear) is strictly prohibited. It is also unlawful to kill or retain in possession any fish that has not voluntarily taken the bait or lure in its mouth.
Game wardens will be strictly enforcing these regulations, along with the one salmon daily bag and possession limit.
All regulations regarding general fishing methods and gear restrictions that apply to Central Valley salmon can be reviewed on the DFG Web site at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations. More information about the 2009 California salmon fishery can be found at: www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/salmon.
