California king salmon returns to San Francisco markets after 3-year shutdown
Seafood lovers in San Francisco were rejoicing on Saturday as sales resumed of fresh-caught Chinook, or "king salmon."
It's been three years since local commercial fishermen were able to cast their lines off the California coast because of declining numbers. While there is optimism for the future, some experienced fishermen say there are plenty of challenges ahead.
Sarah Bates rummaged through a large cooler, searching through her prized catch — a catch that she said had been a long time coming.
"This is a California king salmon," she said, holding up a 28-inch fish, weighing in at about seven pounds. "It's May. So, these fish are three years old, but they are about half the size that they're going to be in September."
Bates has been operating out of San Francisco's fishing wharf for a long time, so when the state shut down the commercial industry in 2023, it was a heavy blow.
But now it looks like the population has rebounded somewhat, and Bates was once again selling fresh Chinook salmon from the dockside market at Fisherman's Wharf. The catch came from an area off Point Arena, far north of San Francisco Bay.
The state's three-year ban was prompted by an alarmingly low number of juvenile salmon entering the bay during the last drought. Salmon live in a three-year life cycle, so most of the fish being caught today first entered the bay in 2023.
"This is the first salmon of the season in San Francisco. Opening day was last week, and so this is the first delivery that we're seeing in San Francisco," said Bates. "We'll have fresh fish through May and June. Later in the season, we may have frozen fish, but we should have salmon. We should have whole salmon. We should have fillets all summer long."
A customer named Susan B. saw the announcement on Instagram and went out to be one of the first to enjoy California's long-delayed catch.
"I love it," she said. "I love the idea that it's caught sustainably, fresh salmon. I love salmon. I love this whole scene."
While the news is certainly positive, some don't share the sense of optimism. Ron Koyosako and David Crumpler are also commercial salmon fishermen, or at least they were until things got so bad.
Koyosako now does sport-fishing charters and bay cruises on his boat, the Nautilus. He said the changing water temperatures off the coast, coupled with warmer, inadequate flows from the delta into the bay, create an environment that will make it hard for the fish to ever really come back.
"I'm going to retire this year, hopefully. I hope," he said, looking out onto all the silent fishing boats moored at the wharf. "A lot of boats sold. A lot of boats have changed, you know? These guys are all doing parties now. That's their main industry. It's called 'Book My Boat' and they have parties on them. There's no more... fishing is a small portion of their business now."
Koyosako may be considering retirement, but Crumpler can't. He's crewing on the Nautilus on weekends and has taken a weekday job ferrying tourists to Alcatraz. But he loves fishing and it hurts that it doesn't feel like a viable career choice anymore.
"Yes, I'm making more money, but at the same time, I'm like...I'm still torn on the inside," he said. "I'm working now. I'm working for a living, you know? I've got a 9-to-5 job. I'll be able to survive and pay my bills, but doing the stuff that I love doing, I've been fishing since I was 4 or 5 years old--it just changes everything."
The fish are back this year and that's certainly a good thing, but there are no guarantees for the future. And while being a fisherman has always required an optimistic spirit, the lack of hope many are feeling has become hard to shake.