Posted on 03/18/2026 8:06:53 PM PDT by nickcarraway
State leaders have announced that sport fishing for salmon will reopen on the Central Coast starting April 11, with commercial fishing set to begin the following month, marking a significant moment for commercial fishermen who have been unable to fish for salmon since 2022.
"It's the news that everybody's been waiting for," said Blake Anderson, Santa Cruz Harbormaster, expressing the anticipation surrounding the reopening of salmon season.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that recreational fishing will commence on April 11, while commercial fishing is scheduled to kick off in May.
The Santa Cruz Harbor is preparing for an influx of boaters, which is expected to benefit local businesses.
"We expect a lot of visitation here, a lot of boating," Anderson said. "It's good for the harbor, good for the businesses around here. You know, recreational salmon is really important and it's part of our culture here in Santa Cruz."
An abbreviated recreational salmon season last year lasted about two weeks, but the reopening is particularly significant for commercial fishermen who have been unable to fish for salmon since 2022.
Anderson noted the challenges faced by larger boats due to quota restrictions but highlighted the opportunity for smaller boats to harvest salmon and earn money.
State wildlife leaders have determined that salmon stocks have recovered sufficiently to allow sport and commercial salmon fishing from south of Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to the U.S./Mexico border.
Hans Haveman, owner of H&H Fish Market, expressed excitement about the reopening, emphasizing the popularity of salmon and its improved health this year.
Haveman said. "You know. it's definitely the fish. Everybody wants a 3 to 1 salmon over anything else. And it's like a little healthier this year. We're really excited."
Predetermined fish quotas will dictate the duration of the fishing seasons, which could last weeks or months. Local fish markets are eager for the return of fresh salmon, although Hans cautioned that there might be some sticker shock due to limited supply.
"This year is going to be abbreviated, but we'll have a few fish that'll come in and it might be some sticker shock because it won't be a lot of them," Haveman said. "But we'll try to keep prices down and then take care of our local fishermen as best we can. And some of our local eaters, too."
The exact date for the start of the commercial season will be determined in mid-April.
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a lot of idiots on this site want CA to not let a drop of water to get to the ocean. they understand nothing! they do not know anything of the delta, as well. Let the Klamath run!
I live in Washington State, where 100 years of over-fishing has decimated the salmon fishery. It won’t be easy to get it back.
YASSSSSS! THERE MUST BE A FREEPER WHO HAS ACCESS TO TRUMP BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR THIS!!!!
I think there is a Santa Cruz in California. Is this where you are talking about?
Hope ‘T’ dock opens this year.
Even the farm raised Scottish stuff is around $20/pound.
Only a few years ago the prices were about 1/2 of this. Fishery management is important, but it needs to be run by sensible people; New Jersey actually has a sensible program for most species and the results have been very good over the last 5 years.
Examples: striped bass, once almost totally gone, now very abundant. Blue crabs...same. Summer flounder, tuna species, etc.
I take it that you never saw the extreme damage that the policy did to the conservation minded farmers in Kalmath, where as a result of the artificial draught it created drove land prices from $4000 acre to $29 acre. The farmers were mostly WWII vets who practiced water, land, animal, and fish conservation. The farmers were instrumental in setting aside 25,000 acres as a wild life refuge. The “endangered” sucker fish was the driver - a fresh water fish that could survive drought by burying itself in the mud.
The local deer populations did not fare so well, many dying of thirst - it was common to see the desiccated bodies or deer in the fields.
It was not about fish or any endangered species, it was about driving the land prices down so Nature Conservancy and American Rivers could swoop in and make a killing. They bought the farmers out, then sold a potion of the farm to the Government for their total purchase price, the rest of the land was then sold to their members who continued to farm the land.
The Klamath salmon were delisted in Sept 2001 - hatchery-spawned salmon are biologically indistinguishable from
naturally spawned, so-called “wild” salmon.
It was not about salmon until years later, when the local tribes decided to get in on the action, pushing for the dams removals, closing hatcheries, and making farming near impossible. Now people cheer the destruction of a way of life, so they can feel good about salmon that were never endangered in the first place.
In contrast, it’s a shame that efforts to restore Atlantic salmon in New England have largely failed, despite all of the diversion canals/fish ladders and restocking efforts. They’re barely hanging on in the Penobscot River in ME, but are otherwise gone from the United States.
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