Measures to Keep Fishery Impacts within the Conservation Objective for the California Coastal Chinook Salmon

NOAA Fisheries is proposing management measures to ensure fishery impacts on California Coastal (CC) Chinook salmon remain within the conservation objective to protect this Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) from jeopardy in the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (Salmon FMP). These new harvest management measures are being proposed to ensure that ocean salmon fisheries between the Oregon/California border and Pigeon Point, California, are managed to promote the conservation of the CC Chinook ESU.

Higher than expected catch rates in the California commercial troll fishery and Chinook salmon catch was a major contributor to exceeding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) take limit for CC Chinook salmon in the fishery from 2018-2022. In response to record low forecasts for KRFC and Sacramento fall-run Chinook salmon, the Council recommended the closure of commercial and recreational salmon fisheries off the coast of California for 2023. NOAA Fisheries determined that data were insufficient for developing an ESU-specific conservation objective for CC Chinook salmon and relied on a surrogate stock, Klamath River fall-run Chinook Salmon (KRFC), to evaluate and limit impacts on CC Chinook salmon in ocean salmon fisheries. The fisheries in this area have been managed primarily through season controls such as fishing time and area restrictions which have proven to be ineffective in controlling the fishery to stay within conservation objectives for CC Chinook salmon in recent years. Thus, NOAA Fisheries is suggesting the use of measures such as landing and possession limits and/or quota management, which are routinely used in other ocean areas where KRFC are impacted. It is important to revise current measures in order to ensure harvest management measures meet conservation objectives.

NOAA Fisheries concurrently announces a 30-day comment period for this proposed rule on this proposal. Please submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2024-0009 in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NMFS. Comments close on May 23, 2024.