Good News: Three alternatives adopted for California's 2026 ocean salmon seasons

SACRAMENTO - The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) adopted three alternative options for 2026 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California, now available for public review, at its March meeting. The Council will make a final decision on salmon seasons at its next meeting on April 8-12, 2026. 

Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open, and catch limits for the three options are available on the Council’s website at www.pcouncil.org. 

But there’s one important detail that isn’t obvious in the PFMC materials, according to the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA).

The Monterey “Cell” fishery will open on April 11. That’s the area south of Pigeon Point in southern San Mateo County, that includes all of Monterey Bay and the California coast to the U.S./Mexico border. This will be the first ocean salmon opportunity in California this year. That will be followed later by the salmon seasons from Pigeon Point north to the Oregon border.

The May 15 date shown in the PFMC March meeting documents doesn’t represent the opener — it simply continues the season that begins April 11. 

If you want to dig into the details, the sections that matter most for California  are pages 7–10 of the document: https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2026/03/table-2-2026-recreational-management-alternatives-for-non-indian-ocean-salmon-fisheries-council-adopted-page-1-of-12-monday-march-09-2026114-pm.pdf/  

The CDFW will regulate the take of salmon this year based on a quota, or number of salmon, that can be taken during the season. Implementing the quota will involve counting and estimating the total catch in as close to real time as possible. The state says it expects to hire additional staff to assist in this counting and tabulating process, which will apply to both the sport and commercial sectors. The seasons will end when the harvestable quota is reached.  

“Overall, forecasts for West Coast Chinook and coho stocks in 2026 are looking largely encouraging coastwide, with forecasts mostly stable or slightly higher than last year,” the PFMC reported on their website. “Federal requirements to conserve Fraser River (Canada) coho, Washington coastal coho, lower Columbia River natural coho, lower Columbia River natural tule Chinook, Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast natural coho, Klamath River fall Chinook, and California Coastal Chinook will be the main constraints for this year’s ocean salmon fisheries.”

“Working closely with our advisors, the Council developed options for commercial, recreational, and Tribal fisheries that aim to maintain a careful balance across fisheries along the coast,” said PFMC Chair Pete Hassemer. “This year brought encouraging signs for both salmon and fishing communities, and we look forward to hearing feedback from the public as we move toward finalizing the 2026 season.”  

The public will get a chance to comment on the three California salmon season options March 23 in Santa Rosa. In early April, the PFMC will adopt one of the options, subject to formal approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service.    

Ocean Abundance Estimate of Sacramento Fall Chinook Salmon Is 392,349 

Prior to the PFMC March meeting, the CDFW Salmon Fishery Information Meeting took place in Sacramento on February 27. Dr. Michael O’Farrell of the National Marine Fisheries Service forecasted a current adult salmon ocean abundance of Sacramento River Fall Chinook to be 392,349, based on a model used to determine West Coast fishing seasons every year.  

The forecast is based largely on the number of jack (two-year-old) salmon that returned to spawn in 2025. The 2025 jack count of 63,369 was the highest since 2011, the result of very rainy, wet conditions in the Central Valley during 2024.

“The heavy runoff into the Central Valley rivers created conditions much closer to those juvenile salmon need to survive, underscoring the benefit salmon enjoy when there’s enough water in Central Valley rivers,” the GSSA wrote.

Though much improved over the previous two low years, the forecasted abundance is well below the banner salmon years in the period from 1996 to 2005. 

The commercial ocean salmon fishing season in California was closed for three years, while only a very limited season for recreational anglers was allowed in 2025. 

Likewise, all recreational salmon fishing was closed on the Sacramento River for three years, with only a short recreational season allowed on the Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers in 2025.

O’Farrell said fishery managers must target an escapement of at least 188,328 Sacramento River salmon this year with an exploitation rate of 52 percent maximum by fisheries.

The relatively strong return of protected Sacramento Winter Run Chinook in 2025 allows for less constraints on the salmon season in Monterey Bay and other areas south of Pigeon Point, California. These are the areas where protected winter-run salmon, listed under both the State and Federal Endangered Species Act, are found historically.

Spawner escapement of Sacramento River Winter Chinook (SRWC) in 2025 was estimated to be 14,303 adults and 880 jacks, a big improvement over recent years, although nowhere near historical numbers. For example, a total of 117,000 of these endangered fish returned to the Sacramento River in 1969. 

Ocean Abundance of 3-Year Old Klamath Fall Chinook Is 157,286 

The 2025 Klamath Basin abundance forecast is 157,286 age 3 fish, 18,323 age 4 salmon, and 624 age 4 fish, according to O’Farrell. 

40,111 fish is the potential spawner abundance, reported Keith Parker, Yurok Tribe senior fishery biologist.The minimum natural area adult salmon escapement is 30,083.

The estimated run size in the Klamath mainstem and its tributaries above Iron Gate was 11,722 adults and 341 jacks in 2025. The estimated run size in the Klamath mainstem and its tributaries above Iron Gate was 11,722 adults and 341 jacks in 2025, showing the clear benefits of the completion of the removal of four Klamath dams in 2024.

The improved situation has opened the door for short recreational salmon fishing seasons this year in the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) off California’s North Coast.

Water quality in the lower Klamath has “significantly improved” since the removal of the dams, according to preliminary results collected by the Yurok Tribe Environmental Department. As I have pointed out before, successful dam removal could have not come about without the over two decades of grassroots activism by members of the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa Valley, Klamath and other Tribes and their allies, including recreational and commercial fishing groups, environmental organizations and supportive elected officials.

The CDFW also released the results from the six days of ocean sport fishing in 2025, the first three in June and the second three in September, at the meeting. About 67% of the fish caught were hatchery fish. Of these, 35% originated at the Mokelumne hatchery. Most of those fish were trucked to safe release sites on the coast and near the Golden Gate Bridge as juveniles.  

The GSSA noted, “This underscores the survival benefit of releasing fish closer to the ocean compared to those released in Central Valley rivers or the Delta,” 

After the meeting, GSSA executive director Vance Staplin said, “You can’t miss the correlation between improved salmon numbers and the fact these fish swam out of the Central Valley a few years ago in very wet conditions. We hear over and over from all of the experts tagging and tracking juvenile salmon in the Central Valley that survival depends primarily on flow conditions in the rivers.”

California’s salmon fishing industry is currently valued at $1.4 billion in economic activity and 23,000 jobs annually in a normal season and about half that much in economic activity and jobs again in Oregon, according to the GSSA. Industry workers benefiting from Central Valley salmon stretch from Santa Barbara to northern Oregon. This includes commercial fishermen and women, recreational fishermen and women (fresh and salt water), Tribes, fish processors, marinas, coastal communities, equipment manufacturers, the hotel and food industry and others.