Seven salmon fishing zones along the California coast, including Fort Bragg, are being closed much earlier than usual this year due to a precipitous decline in the stocks of chinook salmon spawning in the coastal rivers and streams. Sport fishing, which is a major enterprise at Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, will be closed as of April 1. If you like to fish for salmon, you’d better hurry up and get out on a boat before April 1!
The regulators also decided to cancel the scheduled April 7 start for the commercial salmon season. The rest of the commercial fishing season starts May 1. In mid-April, the Pacific Fishery Management Council will make final determinations about this year’s commercial and recreational salmon catches.
