California Sea Grant College Program

Adult Chinook Salmon returns (ocean catch plus escapement) to the Sacramento River watershed in 2007 were the second lowest on record. This prompted severe management actions, as well as a great deal of speculation into possible causes. In response to the unpredicted and precipitous decline, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) closed the fishery for the 2008 season, the most drastic management measure in the history of West Coast salmon fisheries. The socioeconomic impacts of this measure will be extreme for fishers and coastal communities.