Urgent Recommendations for Salmon Fishery Rebuilding and Sacramento River Abundance Management

March 3, 2026 | NCGASA Staff

Urgent Recommendations for Salmon Fishery Rebuilding and Sacramento River Abundance Management

March 03, 2026

Pacific Fisheries Management Council
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, OR 97220

RE: Agenda Item C3 Salmon Management

Dear Chair and Council Members, (Council Roster who are they, click here)

On behalf of Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association (NCGASA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization representing hundreds of professional fishing guides, thousands of recreational anglers, and small businesses that depend on sustainable fisheries, we respectfully submit the following comments regarding Agenda Item C3. NCGASA remains deeply concerned about the continued instability of California’s salmon fisheries, particularly as it relates to Sacramento River fall-run salmon. The past three consecutive years of severe restrictions and full closures have resulted in significant economic harm to coastal communities, but also rural inland communities, guide services, tackle manufacturers, marinas, and tourism-dependent businesses. As we move forward, management must focus not only on conservation, but on rebuilding opportunity and restoring stability to the fishery after these unprecedented closures.We believe there must be a clear effort shift toward rebuilding around Sacramento River abundance targets, particularly given the continued depletion and uncertainty surrounding Klamath River stocks. With Klamath populations remaining critically low, management frameworks should prioritize realistic rebuilding strategies centered on Sacramento abundance targets where biological potential and hatchery contributions provide a clearer pathway toward measurable recovery and limited opportunity when justified.

For the past seven years, NCGASA has consistently warned the Council about declining recruitment, poor stock performance, inaccurate preseason abundance forecasting, and the risks associated with continued environmental mismanagement. Unfortunately, those warnings materialized into the closures and low recruitment cycles we are now experiencing. Moving forward, adaptive corrections and accountability in modeling performance must be a priority.

Under Agenda Item C3 Salmon Management: Identify Management Objectives and Preliminary 2026 Management Alternatives, we respectfully urge the Council to:

1. Commit to rebuilding the fishery following three consecutive years of closure, with structured opportunity reintroduced when escapement and abundance data support it.

2. Cautious management toward Sacramento River abundance targets while Klamath stocks remain severely depressed.

3. Ensure conservation objectives are buffered above minimum escapement thresholds to account for forecast uncertainty and environmental variability. We recommend no less than 180,000 adult escapements.

4. Improve preseason and postseason model transparency and accuracy, particularly regarding ocean abundance estimates and harvest rate assumptions.

5. Advocate for improved freshwater survival conditions, including temperature control, flow management, hatchery coordination, and protection during critical life stages.

6. Recognize that the recreational sector has borne disproportionate impacts and should be afforded meaningful opportunity when stock status allows.

7. Continue coordination with state and federal partners to address non-harvest mortality factors, including predation, pre spawn mortality from water operations, and habitat degradation.

We strongly support precautionary management when the data indicates risk; however, precaution must be paired with adaptive management and transparent review of forecasting performance. When escapement goals are achieved or exceeded, limited and structured opportunity should be incorporated as part of the rebuilding strategy to maintain public trust, economic viability, and industry survival. NCGASA.org stands ready to collaborate with the Council, state agencies, tribal representatives, and federal partners to develop durable solutions that protect salmon stocks while sustaining the communities that rely upon them.

James Stone, President
Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association
P.O. Box 111
Sutter CA 95982