CDFW: 2025 landings rose year‑over‑year; salmon season reopens with cautious in‑season management

Dr. Craig Schuman, marine region manager at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, presented 2025 landing totals and management priorities. He said commercial fisheries landed about 217 million pounds of fish valued at roughly $212 million—a 30% increase by weight and 15% by value over the 10‑year average—driven largely by market squid and Dungeness crab landings.

On salmon, Schuman noted the commercial season has reopened for the first time in several years but described it as a limited opening with active in‑season management to keep harvest within area‑based limits. The department has piloted alternative hatchery release strategies (trucking, net‑pen acclimation, early unfed fry) and is rolling out parentage‑based tagging (PBT) implementation supported by Proposition 4 funding to better track hatchery origin and survival. He also flagged domoic acid and kelp loss as ongoing concerns and said the Fish and Game Commission is considering petitions for MPA network adjustments.

Schuman stressed monitoring and adaptive approaches: the department shortened a Fort Bragg management area opener after high recreational catch rates and closed the Klamath management zone following in‑season signals. He urged anglers to check CDFW notices before fishing and described expanded monitoring and enforcement tools for Dungeness crab management.