NOAA Fisheries is publishing a final rule to implement fishery management measures for the 2023 ocean salmon fisheries season (May 16, 2023 – May 15, 2024) off Washington, Oregon, and California. These measures were adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) at its April 2023 meeting, following opportunities for public comment.
These salmon fisheries extend from the U.S.-Canada border to the U.S.-Mexico border and this final rule establishes open periods, quotas, landing limits, and other management measures for these fisheries. Salmon fisheries in 2023 will provide fishing opportunities along the West Coast from mid-Oregon to northern Washington. Managers and fishermen made tough choices in developing fishing regimes further south, where lower adult salmon returns are forecast. Due to the anticipated extremely low returns of several California Chinook stocks, fishing opportunities will be very limited in southern Oregon and completely closed off the coast of California. This will reduce impacts to stocks of concern until they rebound to levels that can support further fishing opportunities.
Secretary of Commerce Raimondo received an April 6, 2023 letter from Acting California Governor Eleni Kounalakis requesting expedited action on a declaration of a fishery disaster for California’s 2023 Sacramento River Fall Chinook and Klamath River Fall Chinook ocean and inland salmon fisheries. NOAA Fisheries will work with state and tribal fishery officials to ensure that the review of this request and others that may be forthcoming is conducted as expeditiously as possible.
More information on this rule can be found here.
