2023-07-11 02:30:07
On the port of San Francisco, Sarah Bates is depressed these days: instead of going to sea every morning, she remains desperately at the dock because of the ban on salmon fishing caused by the drought in California.
“Salmon is my main catch and it represents 90% of my income”, squeals this 46-year-old fisherwoman, aboard her wooden boat.
In effect along the entire Golden State coast since April, the ban will last until the end of the season in September, and also affects part of neighboring Oregon. Because the number of salmon supposed to come up the rivers in the region is near historic lows, due to the drought that has hit the American West for years.
Aggravated by climate change, it has made the rivers, already riddled with dams, too low or too hot. In these inhospitable conditions, the fish struggle to swim upstream to reproduce, and their offspring often die before reaching the ocean.
The cancellation of the season is a real blow to California, where salmon fishing generates $1.4 billion a year and supports 23,000 jobs, according to the Golden State Salmon Association.
Fisherwoman Sarah Bates, hard hit by the ban on salmon fishing in California, here in the port of San Francisco on June 26, 2023 (AFP – Philip Pacheco)
On the port, one of the restaurants is now supplied by aquaculture farms in Canada to maintain fish on the menu.
“Salmon is king (…) that’s what people want”, sums up Craig Hanson, owner of a boat rented to sport fishing enthusiasts. Praised for its flavor, this fish is also “very spectacular”, recalls the sexagenarian: even following biting, it “fights until the end”.
– Dramatic decline –
A chinook salmon splashes a hatchery worker near Lake Oroville, California, on May 27, 2021 (AFP/Archives – Patrick T. FALLON)
Accustomed to going out every day in summer, the sailor now weighs anchor only four times a week: fishing for halibut or striped bass arouses less enthusiasm among his customers.
Despite this shortfall, the entrepreneur approves of the ban. “If it can help the industry in the future, then I am for it,” he says, hoping for a rebound thanks to the abundant rains and snow this winter.
However, we will have to be patient: many fishermen are already expecting another blank year in 2024.
“Chinook+ salmon caught here in California typically have a life cycle of three or four years,” said Nate Mantua, a scientist with the US Agency for Oceanic and Atmospheric Observations (NOAA). “When something happens to them in fresh water, in the form of eggs or fry, the impact on the fishery is felt two or three years later.”
Today dramatic, their decline began a good ten years ago. And not only because of the lower flow of the rivers, which the authorities have sought to compensate by trucking the baby salmon to release them directly at sea.
Between 2014 and 2016, the waters of the Pacific reached temperatures never seen in North America.
A dead young salmon, inspected along the Klamath River in California in June 2021, during a drought-stricken summer in the region (AFP/Archives – JUSTIN SULLIVAN)
These “ocean heat waves” have created “poor growth and survival conditions for salmon”, summarizes Mr. Mantua. Deprived of cold currents, which are rich in essential nutrients, the fish have become prey to other starving species.
As a result, most salmon in North America are in trouble.
“It’s not just a Californian problem,” insists the specialist. “It’s really regarding the entire Pacific, with a few exceptions,” including some species from Alaska.
– Agriculture, singled out –
A chinook salmon is tagged before being returned to fresh water by a hatchery worker near Lake Oroville, California, on May 27, 2021 (AFP/Archives – Patrick T. FALLON)
But in California, “our fish were already predisposed to be vulnerable to climate shocks,” he adds.
With its 40 million inhabitants, the most populous state in the country has developed its rivers to support its cities and its agricultural sector, essential to feed the United States. Between dams and canals, salmon have lost 80% of the habitats necessary for their spawning.
Water management, largely devolved to farmers in central California, is now causing tension. In San Francisco, many fishermen are demanding that it be used to supply the rivers rather than the producers of almonds, pistachios or walnuts, which are very water-intensive and largely intended for export.
“Water is more important for fish than for nuts,” says Ben Zeiger, a sailor on a sport fishing boat.
Fisherwoman Sarah Bates, hard hit by the ban on salmon fishing in California, here in the port of San Francisco on June 26, 2023 (AFP – Philip Pacheco)
More than the payment of federal aid to compensate for the ban on fishing, the fleet is closely monitoring the efforts of the authorities to restore the habitat of salmon. Like along the Klamath River, in northern California, where a vast project to destroy four hydroelectric dams has just begun.
Without real reform of water management, “we will be in this situation once more” in the face of future droughts, fears Ms. Bates on the quay. “Climate change is happening, and it’s happening faster than any of us anticipated.”
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