Recreational salmon fishing resumes in California this weekend for limited time

After a two-year shutdown, fishing boats will fan out along the California coast angling for Chinook salmon this weekend as recreational fishing resumes under strict limits.
Coastal salmon fishing was banned in 2023 and 2024 in an effort to help the population recover after years of declines. While commercial fishing remains canceled for a third consecutive year, fishery regulators recently decided to allow a limited season for recreational fishing on certain dates and with strict quotas.
'We're all very excited,' said William 'Captain Smitty' Smith, who was readying his charter fishing boat Riptide at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. 'There's a lot of buzz all around the harbor with everybody getting ready for it.'
Smith and his two deckhands have been buying bait and preparing hooks, nets and other gear to take 18 passengers fishing Saturday and Sunday. He said within hours of the April announcement that limited fishing would be allowed, 'my regulars all called and basically filled the boat.'
Smith is 71 and has been in the charter boat business for 50 years. The last time he was able to take passengers fishing for salmon was in 2022.
As his business has struggled during the last two years, he has turned to other types of outings to make ends meet, including fishing for rockfish, leading whale-watching trips and holding burials at sea where mourners scatter the ashes of loved ones.
He said anglers are 'chomping at the bit to go.' Each person will be allowed to catch up to two fish per day.
Read more: U.S. panel calls for suspending commercial salmon fishing in California for third year
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is limiting ocean fishing under quotas in two windows in the summer and fall. The first is set to open Saturday-Sunday and allow for up to 7,000 salmon to be caught statewide.
If that number of fish isn't reached during the opening weekend, salmon fishing will be allowed until the limit is reached in subsequent stretches, which may include July 5-6, July 31-Aug. 3, and Aug. 25-31.
In addition to Half Moon Bay, fishing boats are expected to head out this weekend from other harbors in Central and Northern California such as Morro Bay, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Bodega Bay and Fort Bragg.
'Given the 2-year ocean salmon fishery closure and the short duration of this fishing period, angler participation is expected to be high,' the department said in its announcement. 'Anglers should prepare for crowds and long wait times at public launch ramps and marinas and consider travel, parking, and launch ramp conditions when finalizing plans.'
The agency said fishing will reopen in the fall in some regions — including from Point Reyes in Marin County south to near Half Moon Bay, and from there to Point Sur in Big Sur — under a separate harvest limit guideline of 7,500 Chinook salmon.
The fishing industry depends on fall-run Chinook, which migrate upstream to spawn from July through December. For decades, government-run hatcheries in the Central Valley have reared and released millions of salmon each year to help boost their numbers.
Read more: Salmon populations are struggling, bringing economic woes for California's fishing fleet
Other salmon runs have suffered more severe declines. Spring-run Chinook are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and winter-run Chinook are endangered.
Biologists say salmon populations have declined because of a combination of factors including dams, which have blocked off spawning areas, the loss of vital floodplain habitats, and global warming, which is intensifying droughts and causing warmer temperatures in rivers.
During the severe 2020-22 drought, the water flowing from dams sometimes got so warm that it was lethal for salmon eggs. Although that drought was a major factor behind the declines in the salmon population, those who work in fishing also blame California's water managers and policies, saying too much water has been pumped to farms and cities, depriving rivers of sufficient cold water at the times salmon need it.
Smith said he hopes to see 'responsible water management' where state officials prioritize river flows for fish, as well as efforts to restore floodplains and improve hatchery operations.
Read more: 'A beautiful thing': Klamath River salmon are spotted far upstream in Oregon after dam removal
Because salmon typically feed in the ocean for about three years and then return to their natal streams, the decline in the numbers of surviving juvenile fish during the drought left a reduced population of adult fish. Scientists expect the population should improve somewhat next year because of the boost they received during 2023's historic wet winter, though they also caution that the situation facing California's salmon remains dire.
Smith said one change that has nurtured his hopes came last year, when the last of four dams were dismantled on the Klamath River in Northern California, enabling salmon to reach upstream spawning areas that had been sealed off for more than a century.
'I'm very hopeful for our future,' he said, adding that he is thinking about his 13-year-old grandson and the next generation.
'I want there to be a fishery for my grandson. I want him to be able to experience the thrill of catching a fish in the ocean.'
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Insider

an hour ago

• Business Insider

FedEx founder Fred Smith is dead at 80

Frederick Wallace Smith, the founder and former CEO of FedEx, died Saturday at the age of 80. Smith's death was confirmed by FedEx in a statement. He is survived by his wife, nine of his 10 children, and numerous grandchildren. "Fred was more than just the pioneer of an industry and the founder of our great company. He was the heart and soul of FedEx — its PSP culture, values, integrity, and spirit," Smith's successor, CEO Raj Subramaniam, said. "He was a mentor to many and a source of inspiration to all." Smith, who built FedEx over 50 years ago, was a celebrated entrepreneur who often served as a bellwether for the US economy and global trade for politicians and the media. He was called to the White House as recently as March 2022 to discuss the economic matters of the day. Over the years, he wrote op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, pushing policies, nudging presidents, and lodging grievances. "History shows that trade made easy, affordable, and fast—political obstacles notwithstanding—always begets more trade, more jobs, more prosperity," he said at a Yale University class of 1966 reunion in 2016. He built FedEx in his hometown of Memphis, where he was the top business leader for decades. "Memphis is kind of a one-name town. There's Elvis. There's Cybill. And there's Fred," said Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen when introducing Smith at a congressional hearing in 2021. In an age where tech founders and CEOs have attained celebrity status, Smith represented a more traditional version of the quintessential American dream, favoring visits to Washington over Hollywood. Smith announced he would step down as CEO in March 2022, handing the reins to lieutenant Raj Subramaniam and taking on the role of executive chairman. "FedEx has changed the world by connecting people and possibilities for the last 50 years," Smith said in a statement announcing the change. He said he planned to spend his time focused on sustainability, innovation, and public policy going forward. Founding FedEx Smith was born in 1944 and served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. In 1971, at the age of 27, he founded Federal Express with $4 million in inheritance and $91 million in venture capital — an immense sum at the time. Working from an idea he developed as a student at Yale, Smith based his logistics network on a bank clearing house: Packages would go first to FedEx's central location and to their final destination the next day. Today, Smith is largely credited with inventing the concept of guaranteed overnight delivery. In the early days, FedEx focused on the medical and manufacturing industries, where parts and materials are often needed urgently. The company bought its first plane in 1973, turned its first profit after four years in business, and only grew from there. Smith said his time in the Marine Corps gave him a high tolerance for risk. Business decisions felt light compared to the life-and-death choices he had made in Vietnam. At one point in the early days, FedEx had just $5,000 left. Smith took the money, flew to Las Vegas, turned it into $27,000 playing blackjack, and used the windfall to pay fuel suppliers. In the late 1970s, airline deregulation allowed FedEx to buy hundreds of planes and construct an international network. In a 1983 interview, 60 Minutes' Morley Safer asked the 39-year-old Smith if he ever doubted FedEx would be a success. "Well, that would be an understatement," Smith replied with a laugh. Starting around that time, Smith grew his company with dozens of acquisitions. His 1989 purchase of cargo airline Flying Tigers made FedEx the largest full-service, all-cargo airline in the world, which remained for decades, and still is. He bought delivery firm RPS in 1997, which would become FedEx Ground, and Kinko's in 2004 to form the FedEx Office retail store network. By 2021, the company was shipping roughly 3 billion packages every year, with 688 planes in 220 countries and territories. Taking on Washington and New York Smith was an outspoken advocate for American business around the world throughout his more than 50 years as CEO. He served as president of the US-China Business Council when China became a member of the WTO, and was close friends with former President George W. Bush. Bush wrote in his 2010 memoir that Smith was his top pick for Secretary of Defense in both of his terms, but the executive declined due to the failing health of his daughter Windland Smith Rice, who died in 2005. Smith was also national cochair of John McCain's presidential campaign committee in 2008. Though a Republican, Smith publicly disagreed with President Donald Trump's use of tariffs and opposition to multilateral trade deals. "Trade is what's made America great over the years," Smith told CBS's "This Morning" in 2017. Smith's disagreements with the Trump administration were, however, less heated than his related spat with The New York Times, which centered on the Trump administration's tax policies. Smith publicly sparred with the paper when it published a 2017 story detailing how FedEx was able to pay zero taxes after working to encourage Trump's tentpole corporate tax cuts. Smith called the story "distorted and factually incorrect," and challenged publisher A.G. Sulzberger to a public debate, which the paper declined, calling Smith's response "colorful" and a "stunt." In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Smith accused the paper of "printing selected facts, connecting unrelated events, and implying nefarious activities when there were none whatever." Evolution in the age of Amazon In its early decades, FedEx chiefly moved deliveries from one business to another. The rise of e-commerce changed that and triggered some of the biggest changes in the company's history, though some experts say Smith didn't pivot quickly enough. In 2019, the company began to integrate its disparate Ground and Express services somewhat and moved away from the US Postal Service in an effort to boost its own efficiency. That was also the year Smith went from a partner of Amazon to a fierce adversary. The CEO had shirked years of questions as to whether Amazon's growing logistics empire was a threat to FedEx — until Amazon named logistics companies as competitors in an annual filing with the SEC. FedEx then cut ties with the internet giant, the only carrier to do so. Smith described the battle for e-commerce dominance as a war in which he was betting on Amazon's opponents. Smith's sometimes gruff, no-nonsense style was frequently on display when discussing Amazon. He once called then-Amazon operations lead Dave Clark a "smartass" in the Wall Street Journal." Smith and his then-COO Raj Subramaniam, who will succeed Smith on June 1, 2022, designed the moves away from Amazon and the USPS. Leaving a mark on the US economy Smith built a delivery company into a universally recognized cultural icon. The plane that delivered the first FedEx package sits in the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. The current FedEx logo, introduced in 1994, is a classic of graphic design and the focus of frequent internet fascination over the arrow created by the "E" and "x." Plus, a FedEx package was at the emotional core of the Oscar-nominated Tom Hanks film "Cast Away" (in which Smith had a cameo). "I always told Tom Hanks I thought my 18 seconds in there sort of made his career," he said in the same 2017 CBS interview, with his signature deadpan delivery. FedEx's name is on an NFL stadium — FedEx Field, outside Washington, DC, home to the Washington Commanders, of which Smith was once a minority owner. His son, Arthur, is the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Son Richard Smith is set to take over as CEO of FedEx Express at the end of 2022, and daughter Samantha Smith works in government affairs for FedEx in Washington, DC. Inside FedEx, Fred Smith was revered. He was referred to as "Mr. Smith" or "the chairman" and was known for eschewing some of the fineries his level of success usually entails. He commuted the short distance from his home to his Memphis HQ in his own modest car. Smith solidified FedEx and logistics as a lynchpin in the American economy. The role of package delivery companies changed over the course of Smith's career, but perhaps never more so than during the coronavirus pandemic beginning in 2020. FedEx and its competitors played crucial roles in the delivery of critical supplies. When vaccines were ready for distribution in early 2021, FedEx carried some of the first shipments. In 2021 alone, FedEx delivered roughly 300 million COVID-19 vaccines in more than 50 countries and territories around the world. "We're honored to be a part of this great mission to remove the scourge from our society," said Smith at a 2020 meeting with then-Vice President Mike Pence to discuss Operation Warp Speed vaccine distribution efforts.

NBC Sports

3 hours ago

• NBC Sports

Former Washington minority owner Fred Smith dies at 80

Fred Smith, a towering figure in American business, has died. He was 80. While in most contexts he will be remembered first and foremost as the founder of FedEx, Smith had a significant impact on the NFL. He was the father of former Falcons coach and current Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Fred Smith also was a long-time minority owner of the Washington Commanders, and FedEx for many years held the naming rights to the stadium where the team plays. Beyond his company expressly requesting that the team abandon its former nickname in July 2020, Smith's efforts to extricate himself from the team placed significant pressure on former principal owner Daniel Snyder. Along with Robert Rothman and Dwight Schar, Smith worked to find a way out of their partnership with Snyder, culminating in Snyder buying their stakes in the franchise in early 2021. The unrest sparked by Smith and the other minority partners contributed to the focus on the business activities of the franchise as led by Snyder. There is an unmistakable link between the Smith/Rothman/Schar situation and the ultimate ouster of Snyder in 2023. Smith first acquired his interest in the team in 2003. He had attempted to secure an expansion franchise in Memphis in the 1990s, when the Panthers and Jaguars joined the NFL. With Elvis Presley's estate involved in the bid, the team would have been known as the Memphis Hound Dogs.

The Hill

5 hours ago

• The Hill

FedEx founder Fred Smith, a Marine Corps veteran who revolutionized package delivery, dies at 80

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Fred Smith, the FedEx Corp. founder who revolutionized the express delivery industry, has died, the company said. He was 80. FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Over the next half-century, Smith, a Marine Corps veteran, oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx became a global transportation and logistics company that averages 17 million shipments per business day. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 but remained executive chairman. Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University, used a business theory he came up with in college to create a delivery system based on coordinated air cargo flights centered on a main hub, a 'hub and spokes' system, as it became known. The company also played a major role in the shift by American business and industry to a greater use of time-sensitive deliveries and less dependence on large inventories and warehouses. Smith once told The Associated Press that he came up with the name Federal Express because he wanted the company to sound big and important when in fact it was a start-up operation with a future far from assured. At the time, Smith was trying to land a major shipping contract with the Federal Reserve Bank that didn't work out. In the beginning, Federal Express had 14 small aircraft operating out of the Memphis International Airport flying packages to 25 U.S. cities. Smith's father, also named Frederick, built a small fortune in Memphis with a regional bus line and other business ventures. Following college, Smith joined the U.S. Marines and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He left the military as a captain in 1969 after two tours in Vietnam where he was decorated for bravery and wounds received in combat. He told The Associated Press in a 2023 interview that everything he did running FedEx came from his experience in the Marines, not what he learned at Yale. Getting Federal Express started was no easy task. Overnight shipments were new to American business and the company had to have a fleet of planes and a system of interconnecting air routes in place from the get-go. Though one of Memphis' best-known and most prominent citizens, Smith generally avoided the public spotlight, devoting his energies to work and family. Despite his low profile, Smith made a cameo appearance in the 2000 movie 'Castaway' starring Tom Hanks. The movie was about a FedEx employee stranded on an island. 'Memphis has lost its most important citizen, Fred Smith,' said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, citing Smith's support for everything from the University of Memphis to the city's zoo. 'FedEx is the engine of our economy, and Fred Smith was its visionary founder. But more than that, he was a dedicated citizen who cared deeply about our city.' Smith rarely publicized the donations he and his family made, but he agreed to speak with AP in 2023 about a gift to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to endow a new scholarship fund for the children of Navy service members pursuing studies in STEM. 'The thing that's interested me are the institutions and the causes not the naming or the recognition,' Smith said at the time. Asked what it means to contribute to the public good, he replied: 'America is the most generous country in the world. It's amazing the charitable contributions that Americans make every year. Everything from the smallest things to these massive health care initiatives and the Gates Foundation and everything in between,' he said. 'I think if you've done well in this country, it's pretty churlish for you not to at least be willing to give a pretty good portion of that back to the public interest. And all this is in the great tradition of American philanthropy.'