SACRAMENTO – The California Fish and Game Commission voted this week to close the salmon fishery in the Central Valley rivers and in the Klamath River Basin, making it the second year in a row.
The California Fish and Game Commission vote includes the Sacramento, American, Feather and Mokelumne rivers for chinook salmon fishing.
The commission also approved an emergency closure of the spring sport fishing seasons for Chinook salmon on the Klamath and Trinity rivers. On those same rivers, the commission voted to ban the ownership of Chinook salmon.
These regulations will go into effect no later than July 1, but must still be approved by the California Office of Administrative Law.
The Sacramento River produced between 1 and 2 million fish each year. In 2023, approximately 134,000 adult fall-run Chinook returned to the river to spawn.
This closure comes after the Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended that the California ocean salmon season be canceled for a second year.
Salmon populations are struggling to survive due to climate change and dams.
