Chinook salmon fishing ban proposed

SACRAMENTO, March 15 (UPI) -- Commercial and recreational fishing for chinook salmon may be banned this year under plans being considered by the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The one-year moratorium is aimed at slowing the rapid decline of the fish commonly known as king salmon, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

One option being considered by the panel would allow limited fishing, the newspaper said.

If a ban is adopted, it would mean the loss of $20.7 million that commercial and recreational salmon fishing brings into the California economy each year. Oregon stands to lose $9 million.

Moreover, the roughly 400 commercial fishermen in the state stand to lose 70 percent to 80 percent of their annual incomes, the report said.

"This will be the first total closure since commercial fishing started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1848," said Zeke Grader, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations.

Grader said closing the season, which begins in April, is necessary if the chinook are to be saved. "Right now we're looking at trying to keep the industry alive for the next two years."