California cancels salmon fishing season • Hacker News Board

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#21

Post by NegativeLatency » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:17 PM UTC

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

kposehn wrote: post #2

I've been Salmon fishing in California since I can remember. There are few things I love more than being on the water going for Kings as the sun comes up. I'm really bummed we won't have a season, but having more fish in the future is worth the short term cost.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

Car tire debris: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/03/coho-sal...

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#22

Post by hadlock » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:17 PM UTC

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

kposehn wrote: post #2

I've been Salmon fishing in California since I can remember. There are few things I love more than being on the water going for Kings as the sun comes up. I'm really bummed we won't have a season, but having more fish in the future is worth the short term cost.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

There was a bombshell report about an immediate moratorium on crab fishing in Alaska, that came out of nowhere, seemingly. About a month later there was a (very, very quiet) report justifying the moratorium. The short version is that effectively scientists had been asking for reduction in fishing in the area for decades and finally the remaining stock in the area was so low it was critically endangering the ecosystem there. So they finally put in a hard stop after years of kicking the can down the road.

I suspect we'll see additional cessation of fishing in other areas as it further unravels that we've been chronically overfishing for decades.

Britain after WW2 overharvested mackerel from their seas for so long that they had to put permanent fishing quotas and even today the mackerel have not fully recovered from overfishing over half a century ago. Anglers have an enormous impact on fish and wildlife stocks.

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#23

Post by NegativeLatency » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:18 PM UTC

mikeg8 wrote: post #12

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

Fixing a multifaceted problem requires multifaceted solutions. It can definitely help.

The publicity from the cancelation seems like a really valuable aspect too

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#24

Post by Teever » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:18 PM UTC

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #3

> Last year, 196,000 adult fish were expected to return to the Sacramento River to spawn but only 60,000 showed up. 70% decline If your business depends on this fishing season, what do you do? Go bartend?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_Atlantic_north...

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#25

Post by kposehn » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:25 PM UTC

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

kposehn wrote: post #2

I've been Salmon fishing in California since I can remember. There are few things I love more than being on the water going for Kings as the sun comes up. I'm really bummed we won't have a season, but having more fish in the future is worth the short term cost.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

It won't fix it for sure, but it will help. Reducing the pressure on the population can go a long way to improving future prospects.

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#26

Post by kposehn » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:27 PM UTC

NegativeLatency wrote: post #23

mikeg8 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixing a multifaceted problem requires multifaceted solutions. It can definitely help.

The publicity from the cancelation seems like a really valuable aspect too

Absolutely. We definitely need to put a spotlight on this and other dwindling fish stocks. Even though there are other populations to draw from, once they're gone they are very, very hard to get back.

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#27

Post by qqtt » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:30 PM UTC

hadlock wrote: post #22

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

There was a bombshell report about an immediate moratorium on crab fishing in Alaska, that came out of nowhere, seemingly. About a month later there was a (very, very quiet) report justifying the moratorium. The short version is that effectively scientists had been asking for reduction in fishing in the area for decades and finally the remaining stock in the area was so low it was critically endangering the ecosystem…

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#28

Post by nimbius » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:32 PM UTC

myshpa wrote: post #15

It's not just the draughts. https://www.seaspiracy.org/facts "Species like thresher, bull and hammerhead sharks have lost up to 80-99% of their populations in the last two decades. Seabird populations have declined by 70% since the 1950's. Studies estimate that up to 40% of all marine life caught is thrown overboard as bycatch. Six out of seven species of sea turtles are either threatened or endangered due to fishing…

wild...as a hunter who has made the trek to California a few times for Javelina hog and black bear, i had no clue they even offered a permit for salmon at all...its just not something advertised much.

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#29

Post by bradleyjg » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:35 PM UTC

hadlock wrote: post #22

bradleyjg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can’t hurt, but I don’t think something like this is really going to fix the problem. Dams, water levels abs temperatures, ocean trawling, acidification … there’s lots and lots of stress on salmon population aside from anglers.

There was a bombshell report about an immediate moratorium on crab fishing in Alaska, that came out of nowhere, seemingly. About a month later there was a (very, very quiet) report justifying the moratorium. The short version is that effectively scientists had been asking for reduction in fishing in the area for decades and finally the remaining stock in the area was so low it was critically endangering the ecosystem…

They did a moratorium on crab fishing by crab fishermen but allow trawling for groundfish that a) picks up crab as bycatch and b) destroys their spawning grounds.

It’s not a great example of an effective policy response.

Re: California cancels salmon fishing season

#30

Post by yesenadam » Mon, Mar 13, 2023, 10:35 PM UTC

mikeg8 wrote: post #11

Great news. I live in the area this story was filmed in and have been to that pro shop. I really hope they can weather a lost season and feel bad for the tough times ahead. But I’m happy and proud that our state is willing to take drastic measures to protect the resource. I hope that as we focus on balance and stewardship, populations of salmon, and abalone, to continue to rebound so that the fisheries are healthy an…

And maybe the life in the ocean is more than just a "resource" for humans to exploit, like so much coal or gas.