Is Calif. salmon fishery finished?

SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (UPI) -- The one-year ban on fishing for Chinook salmon could kill the commercial salmon fishery in California, officials said.

The number of boats has dropped from 4,000 to 400 in 15 years, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"We're looking at the end of it right now," said Hedley Prince, harbormaster at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Most commercial fishing captains in California get about 70 percent of their income from salmon, with the Chinook the backbone of the commercial fishery.

Duncan MacLean, who fishes out of Half Moon Bay on a 43-foot boat named after his daughter, Barbara Faye, said the one-year moratorium will damage marketing efforts and other infrastructure.

The California fishermen generally work off small boats and cannot afford the $60,000 permits required to fish for salmon off Alaska.

Commercial salmon fishing in the San Francisco area dates back to the Gold Rush era. Joe DiMaggio and his brothers are among the celebrated San Franciscans from fishing families.