Fishing Community Reacts To Another Quick Salmon Closure: “We Need To Find Real Solutions”
Just like the first ocean salmon season, September’s limited opportunity to catch saltwater kings didn’t last long, as NOAA and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the 7,500-fish quota was met and the remaining days canceled. The Golden State Salmon Association compiled reaction from its executive director Scott Artis and those in the the fishing community. Here they are:
2025 California Salmon Season Cut Off — Fishermen Respond
CDFW Announces fall ocean salmon fishery has met the 7,500 Chinook fall harvest guideline and is set to close remaining 2025 dates
“The extremely limited recreational salmon season has officially wrapped for the year. Commercial trollers had no season for the third year in a row, and the recreational fleet was given just six days OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS. Businesses that depend on salmon continue to suffer, with some disappearing altogether in 2025. This shortage is no accident—it’s the direct result of choices made by Governor Gavin Newsom during the last drought, when salmon and the communities who rely on them were treated as expendable. Meanwhile, salmon-killing projects like Sites Reservoir, the Delta Tunnel, and so-called voluntary agreements keep advancing under his watch. Where does this ecological and economic insanity end—when the last salmon struggles up our once-great rivers, or when the last fishing boat is pulled from the harbor? We’re calling on the Governor to stop attacking salmon and start standing with us to fight federal rollbacks and save California’s salmon runs and salmon jobs.”
Scott Artis, Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association
“Instead of taking a hard stance on water resource policy, the burden has been shifted to the sport and commercial fishermen, not to mention the many people of California and the United States who rely on fresh California king salmon for a quality omega-3 rich protein.”
Garrin McCarthy, California commercial fisherman
“Businesses and families that rely on salmon to make a living in California were reminded of what income looks like during this last salmon fishing opportunity for 2025. It was a pittance compared to what it ought to be and would be but for Gavin Newsom being in lockstep with Donald Trump in diverting California rivers to big agriculture at the expense of salmon families and communities.”
John McManus, recreational fisherman
“With the loss of the last few years of the salmon fishery, it forced many of us to work outside the state and look to other fisheries that reduce our opportunities. The long term effect is loss of a valuable resource to the public—one that is truly owned by the people of this country. We are food providers and there is a real need to support that production. Looking to the future, we need to find real solutions regarding water issues. Without that, the industry is dying on the vine.”
Dick Ogg, commercial fisherman
The Golden State Salmon Association (www.goldenstatesalmon.org) is a coalition of salmon advocates that includes commercial and recreational salmon fishermen and women, businesses, restaurants, native tribes, environmentalists, elected officials, families, and communities that rely on salmon. GSSA’s mission is to restore California salmon for their economic, recreational, commercial, environmental, cultural, and health values.
