Fall Chinook salmon runs in 2024 in the Sacramento River and Klamath River watersheds in the U.S. state of California were far smaller than expected, according to new data from the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC).
Regulators forecast a fall run of more than 180,000 adult chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento River Basin in 2024, but the PFMC’s recently published review of West Coast fisheries estimated a run of fewer than 100,000 fish.
The Klamath River fall run also underperformed the pre-season forecast. According to the PFMC estimate, only 36,568 adult fall chinook returned to the Klamath River in 2024 compared to a prediction of 65,138 adults.
California salmon runs have been impacted by several environmental and climate-related challenges.
“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 a request for federal fishery disaster funding last year. “Extreme climate disruption is compounding these factors and is now testing the resiliency of our salmon.”
The PFMC and California Fish and Game Commission voted to cancel its salmon seasons for the past two years, and the most recent numbers don’t bode well for the fishery in 2025.
The California government requested USD 47 million (EUR 45.6 million) in federal funding to compensate commercial and recreational fishers and businesses for the lost revenue from the Klamath River and Sacramento River fisheries being closed in 2024.
In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that a fishery disaster had indeed impacted the fisheries, but it has yet to reveal how much federal funding the state will actually receive. California officials were left frustrated after receiving only USD 20.6 million (EUR 20 million) in fishery disaster funding for the 2023 seasons despite requesting USD 35.3 million (EUR 34.3 million).
Some salmon conservationists blame state policies championed by California Governor Gavin Newsom for ...
