Klamath Calamity Prompts Call to Ban Salmon
Today’s San Francisco Chronicle has an article about the problems with Oregon’s Klamath River salmon fishery. The salmon population there has been falling steadily, and now it’s fallen so far that it’s below sustainable levels.
Next week, the Pacific Fishery Management Council will put forth three proposals for fixing the problem, and there’s a good chance that one will suggest an outright ban on all wild salmon catches from Monterey to Oregon. Needless to say, fisherfolk are concerned, as are restaurateurs and fishmongers. Locally caught wild salmon is practically a staple along the Pacific Coast when the fish is in season.
Overtaxed fisheries are the norm now; we’ve seriously depleted the wild populations, and we’re going to pay the price. It’s not hard to see that this proposal will be one of many as fisheries collapse.
