FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2026
Contact:
Vance Staplin, GSSA Executive Director, 916-225-2790
Salmon Fishing underway in Monterey Bay
San Francisco – The Pacific Fisheries Management Council has finalized when and where salmon fishing will occur in the ocean off California in 2026. Sport fishing for salmon began on Saturday, April 11, from Pigeon Point south to the Mexican border. Due to stormy weather, only a few boats fished, and a small number of salmon were caught.
Sport fishing for salmon will begin north of Pigeon Point on June 27. This will include waters off Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Bodega Bay, and up to Point Arena. Waters from the Oregon border south to the “40/10” line offshore of southern Humboldt County will open June 13.
To implement the new quota system, each ocean regulatory “cell” will be assigned a number of catchable salmon. Salmon that are caught will be counted in as near to real time as possible. When the number of fish caught in a cell equals the quota for that cell, fishing will be shut down. The summer sport fishing quota for the Monterey cell is 21,800. The San Francisco cell quota is 34,900, and the Fort Bragg cell quota is 5,100.
Commercial salmon fishing will begin May 16, and the summer season, which runs until August 27, will include five openings above Pigeon Point and ten below Pigeon Point. The openings last three to seven days. Commercial boats will be limited to 160 salmon per opening and an overall quota of 83,000 salmon. Additional commercial fishing will be allowed in the fall season, starting September 4, until a quota of 20,000 salmon is caught.
This year’s restrictions on the ocean fishery are aimed at protecting what is believed to be a low number of chinook salmon born in coastal California rivers and streams between the Russian River in Sonoma County and Redwood Creek in Humboldt County. These fish are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. Because of these protective measures, salmon fishermen in the Sacramento River and its tributaries could see an improved in-river fishery this year.
This year’s fishing comes after three years of a total fishery shutdown to commercial fishermen and the same to sport, with the exception of six days of fishing allowed in 2025.
According to official estimates, the current adult salmon population in California is 392,349, an improvement over recent years.
“We’re cautiously optimistic about what this year’s improved salmon seasons will bring,” said GSSA executive director Vance Staplin. “Businesses up and down the coast and inland are desperate for the economic boost this season will bring, especially after so many recent bad years of no business caused by the shutdown of salmon fishing. Coastal communities that have grown to rely on the annual salmon fishery are excited at the prospect of hopefully becoming profitable again. When you calculate the economic multipliers, the salmon fishery can bring over a billion dollars, spread across not only California, but also in Oregon, where many Central Valley salmon migrate to rear in the ocean.”
“We’re excited to have a fishing season, even though it will be greatly restricted this year,” said GSSA board chairman Mike Aughney. “At the same time, we’re also concerned about the juvenile salmon currently trying to get out of the Central Valley and to the sea. After the extremely warm March, we can use all the rain we can get as baby salmon transit from fresh to saltwater between now and June.”
About GSSA: The Golden State Salmon Association (www.goldenstatesalmon.org) is a coalition of salmon advocates that includes commercial and recreational salmon fishermen and women, businesses, restaurants, a native tribe, environmentalists, elected officials, families, and communities that rely on salmon. GSSA’s mission is to restore California salmon for their economic, recreational, commercial, environmental, cultural, and health values.
Currently, California’s salmon industry is 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. Industry workers benefiting from Central Valley salmon stretch from Santa Barbara to northern Oregon. This includes commercial fishermen and women, recreational fishermen and women (freshwater and saltwater), fish processors, marinas, coastal communities, equipment manufacturers, the hotel and food industry, tribes, and others.
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Media contact: Vance Staplin, GSSA Executive Director, 916-225-2790