California Salmon
fighting to bring back harvest
Working until wild California salmon are back in the ocean and on dinner plates
the salmon fishery
When salmon season is open, boats line up before dawn and ports come alive. For generations, California salmon sustained working ports and thousands of fishing families. The fishery has supported coastal economies and helped define the identity of fleets and communities all along the coast. For the fleet, salmon isn’t just a fishery; it’s a livelihood passed down through generations. The decline and closures have hit the fleet hard and strained the ports and communities that rely on it.
Every salmon run in California faces challenges. In some rivers, especially where dams are coming down, there’s new hope for reintroduction and future natural abundance. But the Central Valley system, which once produced the Fall Run salmon that we are allowed to harvest in the commercial ocean fishery, can no longer support a reliable fishery. Salmon are resilient; they’ve adapted for thousands of years, but when water management and inland trade-offs destroy the conditions they need, too few make it to the ocean and to the fleet and communities that depend on them.
THE LONG ROAD BACK:
PCFFA is in this fight for the long haul, working to rebuild meaningful salmon access and harvest for California’s commercial ocean fleet. We are working toward smarter water management that reflects real salmon needs for out-migration and return, and measures success by strong, harvestable ocean abundance. We support targeted work that helps salmon survive while focusing on rebuilding production through reintroduction and hatchery reform.
In the Central Valley, hatcheries were created more than a century ago for food production. PCFFA is working to restore that original purpose alongside state- and federal-hatchery operations focused on conservation. We are improving data coordination, refining release timing, and collaborating with agencies to adapt strategies that address poor water conditions.
our salmon work
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The Bridge Group
PCFFA represents California’s commercial ocean fleet in the Salmon Bridge Group, a coalition of fishermen, farmers, researchers, and conservationists working together to rebuild Northern California salmon runs.
The group’s projects connect river and ocean by improving hatchery releases, migration routes, and habitat so more salmon survive from the Sacramento River to the Pacific and bonds California food producers together for a brighter future.
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Hatchery Mitigation
PCFFA works to ensure California’s hatcheries meet mitigation obligations for salmon lost to dams and water projects. Through the Fishing Industry Salmon Hatchery Initiative (FISHI), we support new and expanded facilities where needed, and advocate for stable funding and production targets tied to ocean harvest.
We work to coordinate across programs so hatcheries support viable ocean fisheries and conservation.
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Ocean Abundance
PCFFA works to make sure every investment in habitat, flow, and reintroduction leads to more salmon reaching the ocean and more harvestable fish for California’s communities.
We push for management that measures success by results in the ocean: stronger stocks, reliable access, and a fishery that feeds the coast. The goal is simple. Rebuild the salmon abundance that sustains our ports and our way of life.
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