The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is inviting the public to participate in its annual salmon information meeting via webinar on Feb. 26, including a presentation on management objectives for the 2025 ocean salmon seasons.
Meeting details, informational materials and instructions for attendance are slated to be published in advance of the event on agency’s website: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason.
Scheduled presentations include a report on last year’s spawning escapement and estimates of forecasted ocean abundance.
The annual meeting marks the start of a two month process to develop annual sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing regulations and informs the development of inland salmon fishing regulations later in the spring.
The annual pre-season process involves collaborative negotiations between West Coast states, federal agencies, tribal co-managers, sport and commercial salmon industry representatives and other stakeholders interested in salmon fishery management and conservation.
California representatives said they plan to work together to develop a range of recommended ocean fishing season alternatives at the March 5-11, Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Vancouver, Wash.
Final season recommendations are expected to be adopted at the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s April 9-15 meeting in San Jose, Calif. The range of inland salmon fishing regulation options were discussed at the Fish and Game Commission meetings on Feb. 12-13, and will be at April 16-17 meeting in Sacramento, Calif., with final inland season recommendations and adoption scheduled for the May 14, teleconference meeting.