California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers caught a commercial fisher in San Fransisco, California, U.S.A., with thousands of pounds in illegal catch, some of which was hidden behind a false wall in his fishing vessel.
The officers claim they spotted the owner of a commercial trawling vessel unloading several burlap sacks from their vessel at Pier 45 in San Francisco. When officers confronted the individual later on at a restaurant, the fisher “attempted to flee and hide fish,” according to a CDFW social media post. Aboard the vessel, officers found a false wall hiding fillets of salmon, despite the fishery season being closed.
Also seized were sole, sanddab, and 2,365 pounds of halibut. CDFW sold the fish and donated the proceeds to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
CDFW also submitted a formal complaint to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Officer about the incident.
California’s ocean salmon fisheries have been closed since 2023 due to a widespread drop in populations, with regulators hoping that a pause in commercial fishing activities will allow the population to recover.
The federal government directed USD 20.6 million (EUR 20 million) in financial aid to California salmon fishers and affiliated businesses to help make up for the loss of economic revenue from the closed fisheries.
In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed that the salmon fisheries qualify for financial aid for the 2024 season, as well. California officials have requested USD 47 million (EUR 45.6 million) in financial relief.
“A host of factors have pushed these iconic and important fisheries to the point of collapse, including prolonged and historic drought, severe wildfires, impacts to spawning and rearing habitat, harmful algal blooms, and ocean forage shifts and associated thiamine deficiency,” California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis stated in her request for a fishery disaster determination. “Extreme climate disruption is compounding these factors and is now testing the resiliency of our salmon.”
