POINT ARENA, CA., 5/4/26 – Fishermen in Arena Cove are abuzz as they prepare their boats for salmon fishing for the first time since 2022. This week marks the end of a three-year closure on commercial salmon fishing.
“We all just love salmon fishing, more than probably any other fishing,” said Peter Boggdahn, who has been a fisherman in Point Arena since 1990. He began fishing for salmon in 2002.
“All the fishermen are super excited about it, like little kids before Christmas.”
The decision to resume commercial salmon fishing came via the Pacific Fishery Management Council Agency after significant improvements in key California salmon populations were observed.
Along the Mendocino coast, salmon fishing opened in the southern part of the county, in an area that stretches from Pigeon Point in Pescadero to Point Arena. Salmon fishing is allowed exclusively between May 1-6, 9-13, 16-20, 23-29, and August 1-7, 13-16, and 25-27.
The month of July will remain closed, a detail that did not go unnoticed by fishermen, as salmon are usually in their greatest numbers around Point Arena at that time.
“We’re hoping for a miracle, and you never know…we’re kind of hoping the salmon actually got pushed up here,” notes Boggdahn about the potential that warmer waters could shift the fish’s migratory patterns unseasonably early.
Despite July’s closure, fishermen remain optimistic, as the open weeks mark the return of a valuable revenue source. The past years’ salmon bans dealt a financial blow to many fishermen, though some felt its impact more than others.
For fishermen who fish almost exclusively salmon, surviving the longest closure on salmon fishing in California’s state history might have been impossible. Boggdahn recalls that some of the fishermen who relied on salmon season were forced to sell their boats.
“I know there are other people that only do salmon…if you don’t have any income, it’s pretty hard to keep a boat up like that,” said Boggdahn.
Though hard on fishers, the bans may have worked
The return of salmon is an encouraging sign that state-led efforts have been effective in restoring salmon stock.
Increased state action came after consecutive years of drought brought salmon populations to drastically low levels, leading to the closure of salmon season in 2023. In 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom launched California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future, a policy roadmap that included removing dams and restoring wetland habitats as part of its strategy to encourage salmon stock.
The removal of dams on the Klamath River in 2024, a centerpiece of that strategy, has been instrumental in rehabilitating salmon populations.
Dams like the Klamath have impeded salmon access to historical spawning and rearing habitats in the high areas of mountain streams for decades. As a result, salmon have been forced to spawn in lower elevation areas, whose warmer waters can cook salmon eggs. The issue of hotter waters has been exacerbated by repeated drought years.
The 2021 drought, which brought reservoirs to historically low levels, and thus even hotter temperatures, was especially deadly. The NOAA predicted that 75% of the roughly 31 million salmon eggs laid below the Shasta and Keswick dams died that year.
In a written statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, natural resources secretary Wade Crowfoot said, “This year’s return of ocean salmon fishing is an encouraging sign as we advance California’s long-term, science-based Salmon Strategy. Together with a range of partners, we’re restoring habitat, removing barriers, improving flow and reconnecting rivers to give salmon a better chance to survive in all conditions. This work is about balance — making improvements and modernizing water management to help nature thrive and our communities prosper.”
Though salmon are showing hopeful numbers, their population still requires close monitoring. To ensure the salmon catch does not exceed seasonal harvest guidelines, fishermen must follow strict new regulations. This year will be the first time CDFW will enforce vessel-based trip limits and in-season harvest guideline managements. This gives fishery managers the power to close salmon season early if harvest guidelines are reached earlier than expected.