Regulators warns of salmon population decline

The number of Chinook salmon population has reached to a record low last year, pointing towards an unprecedented collapse of the species.

The federal fishery regulators have deiced to put sever restrictions on West Coast salmon fishing as the population of salmon is getting lower with each passing year. The record decline of king salmon is a part of broader decline in wild salmon runs in rivers across the West. A sharp decline has been noticed in king salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries.

But the main reason for the shrinking number of spawners has not been know yet. Some scientists believe that the shrinking population of salmon is related to changes in the ocean due to global warming. Donald McIsaac, the agency's executive director, said the magnitude of the low abundance questioned the stock of salmon.

Chuck Tracy, who heads the council's salmon technical team, said that the spawning of salmon in Central Valley rivers, is the backbone of the West Coast's commercial and recreational salmon fishery. According to him when Central Valley fish are low it gets really hard to catch fish even if you're given the opportunity.

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WorldFishingToday d. 03-02-2008