<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Good Morning</div><div><br></div><div>Here is a brief summary of the meeting yesterday. I will do a more detailed report later.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks</div><div>Dan</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs/details/recreational-anglers-are-cautiously-optimistic-about-2014-ocean-salmon-seas/">http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs/details/recreational-anglers-are-cautiously-optimistic-about-2014-ocean-salmon-seas/</a></div><div><br></div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6">Fish agencies and anglers are optimistic about 2015 ocean salmon season</font><div><br></div><div>by Dan Bacher <div><br></div><div>State and federal fishery scientists speaking at the annual salmon informational meeting held in Santa Rosa Thursday shared encouraging news for sport and commercial salmon anglers for the upcoming 2015 ocean salmon season.<p>Forecasts, developed in modeling based on the returns of two year old salmon, "jacks" and "jills," to the river in the fall of 2014 suggest there are 652,000 adult Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon in the ocean this year, along with 423,800 adults from the Klamath River fall run.</p><p>Fish from these runs comprise the vast majority of salmon taken in California’s ocean and inland fisheries, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). </p><p>These forecasts, surprising many anglers at the meeting since they were higher than last year, will be used over the next few months by fishery managers to set sport and commercial fishing season dates, commercial quotas, and size and bag limits.</p><p>“The forecasts are encouraging and suggest that California fisheries may see salmon seasons in 2015 that have increased opportunities over last year,” said Melodie Palmer-Zwahlen, a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.</p><p><i>Palmer-Zwahlen noted that Chinook salmon harvested in ocean fisheries in 2015 hatched 2-4 years ago and, as a result, have not been highly impacted by California’s drought. "Starting next year, it is anticipated that future ocean salmon fishing opportunities may be impacted by the ongoing drought," she stated.</i></p><p>Season dates and other regulations will be developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and California Fish and Game Commission over the next few months. Thursday's meeting was a key first step in establishing coastal salmon fishing seasons and regulations for this year that are expected to be finalized and announced by the PFMC and the California Fish and Game Commission in April.Pending these decisions, the 2015 recreational salmon season is on track to open in most of California on Saturday, April 4, noted a news release from the Coastside Fishing Club.</p><p>“When it came to salmon projections for the state and anticipated ocean fishing opportunities during 2015, the mood at the meeting could be best described as cautiously optimistic,” said Coastside Fishing Club President and Science Director Dan Wolford, a voting member of the PFMC. “About 212,000 adult salmon returned to spawn in California’s Sacramento River and tributaries in 2014 — well above the 180,000 escapement objective previously set by fishery managers." </p><p>Another positive note was the solid number of returning two-year old fish, commonly referred to as "jacks" and "jills," according to Wolford. Included in the overall returns for 2014 were 25,359 jacks — about 25-percent more than returned in 2013. Since the majority of these sub-adult salmon tend to stay out in the ocean for another year before returning, this is another positive sign for ocean salmon numbers and solid fishing opportunities in 2015. </p><p>At this time last year, scientists estimated an abundance of about 600,000 three-year old Sacramento River salmon. Iinitial estimates for 2015 put the forecasted number of adults a bit higher than last year, at 650,000.</p><p>"The 2014 returns are a pleasant surprise and point to the success of the extraordinary efforts of the Department to truck juvenile hatchery fish around the deadly conditions encountered in the rivers and bay-delta system," Wolford observed.</p><p>Wolford said returning adult salmon numbers on the Klamath River were also stronger in 2014 than in the previous year — with the 95,330 natural adult spawners more than doubling the established minimum of 40,700 fish. An additional 31,000 adult salmon also returned to the Klamath Basin hatcheries. </p><p>“We face many challenges in California, not the least of which is our continuing drought," said Wolford. "Still, the positive salmon return numbers from 2014 and the forecast for the coming season gives us reason to be hopeful. "The PFMC will weigh these projections and take into account a wide range of considerations as it develops regulations that will ultimately decide when, where and how anglers can fish for salmon in the state." </p><p>Wolford was featured on a panel with Coastside Director Marc Gorelnik, who serves on the PFMC Salmon Advisory Subpanel, the body charged with developing season options for adoption, and other members of the PFMC and its advisory panels.</p><p>"Involvement with the PFMC is just one of many initiatives this volunteer-driven organization undertakes to benefit anglers and fish alike, including the construction, operation and maintenance of salmon acclimation pens located in Pillar Point Harbor," according to the releasd. "Over the past three years, Coastside volunteers have received, fed, vaccinated and released nearly one million juvenile salmon into area waters, each sporting a coded wire tag that allows fishery managers to track movements of these hatchery fish — as well as the program’s overall success — through the eventual capture of returning fish." </p><p>Fishermen who want to stay on top of developing news and regulations can visit the Coastside Fishing Club website at <a href="http://www.CoastsideFishingClub.com">www.CoastsideFishingClub.com</a>. </p><p>For more information on the salmon season setting process or general ocean salmon fishing information, please visit the Ocean Salmon Project website at<a href="http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp" _mce_href="http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp</span></a>, or call the salmon fishing hotline at (707) 576-3429.</p><div><br></div></div></div></body></html>