Low Salmon Projections 'Punch In The Face' For Fishermen
"We've had a really hard salmon season summer of 2015," Tim Sloan, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federations of Fisherman's Associations said.
Domoic Acid then delayed the local Dungeness crab season by months, and now the fishermen are facing low abundance projections for salmon in the Pacific Ocean.
"Now, this is our third punch in the face, while we're down with a tough salmon season coming up. So, we're looking at a very restricted salmon season this year," Sloan said.
On top of the smaller number of salmon swimming around, endangered species swim right alongside them.
"We limit fishing on the target stocks, so as to avoid impacts on those endangered stocks. So, you have a low number of total fish, and then that number shrinks because the endangered fish that are on the periphery," Sloan said.
The fisheries management council meets in Vancouver, Washington next week to determine the start of the salmon season. It usually begins May 1st, and lasts through October.