Federal regulators overseeing West Coast fisheries have effectively called off California’s entire 2023 ocean salmon fishing season, in an effort to protect fish populations that have dwindled during the ongoing drought. In California, most fisheries had been set to open their season April 1. Instead, the National Marine Fisheries Service on Friday canceled all ocean salmon fishery openers between Cape Falcon, Oregon, through the U.S. border with Mexico through at least May 15, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, a federal conservation council that manages fishery operations for Washington, Oregon and California, has proposed three regulatory options for the window of May 16 of this year through May 15, 2024.
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