QuickTake:
After a three-year closure, salmon fishing has reopened in the Monterey Bay Area with limited quotas and staggered seasons designed to support a cautious recovery. While the season remains tightly managed, it offers opportunity for smaller, lower-overhead boats — particularly those in Santa Cruz — to get back on the water.
Although stormy weather prevented many boats from getting out on the water, last weekend marked an important transition for fishers in the Monterey Bay Area: the start of the salmon fishing season.
For three years, the state closed the commercial and sport salmon fishing seasons – with the exception of five days of recreational fishing in 2025 – due to low populations.
But on Saturday, the sport fishing season opened along the coast south of Pigeon Point, which includes Santa Cruz County, and will open to the north to Point Arena in Mendocino County on June 27. It will remain open until fishers reach the quota limits of 21,800 salmon south of Pigeon Point, 34,900 fish north of Pigeon Point, and 5,100 in the area off the coast of Fort Bragg.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had announced that the commercial season would open for the first time since 2022, but the regulations hadn’t been determined. On Sunday, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the federal commission that oversees West Coast fisheries, released the opening dates and quotas.
The commission is dividing the state into areas north and south of Pigeon Point, located about six miles north of the Santa Cruz County line. The summer commercial season runs from May 16 to August 27, and will consist of clusters of staggered opening days, with three- to seven-day intervals where fishing is allowed, followed by closures when it’s prohibited. There will be five openings north of Pigeon Point, and 10 in the areas south, including Monterey Bay.
The state also used staggered dates in 2022, the last time the commercial season was open, and for the brief sport fishing season in 2025.
Boats, regardless of size, are limited to taking 160 salmon per day, with a total quota for the season of 83,000. If fishers reach the quota before August, the season will close.
How long the season lasts depends on several factors, said Tim Obert, a veteran Santa Cruz fisherman and representative for the industry.
“It’s really dependent on how many boats participate, and how the fishing is,” he said. “If the fishing is good, it’s going to go quick. If the fishing is slow, it’ll last longer. And if fewer boats show up, then there’s possibly a longer season.”
The trip limit of 160 fish is a moderate income stream for most fishers, and smaller boats, like those that operate out of the Santa Cruz Harbor, have the most to gain because of lower overhead costs, said Obert.
“I really appreciate the opportunity for my friends with smaller vessels, guys that are reliant on this fishery alone, and haven’t had an opportunity over the last three years,” Obert said. “Even though it might not be a super valuable fishery at this season’s projection, it’s still enough where someone can go make a living.”
One downside of the limited catch is that it’s likely to drive the price up for consumers.
“The price for that fish is probably going to be super valuable.” he said. “If the fishing is slow, it’s going to be really valuable, which means wholesalers are going to have to pay a high price for it.”
Opening the fishery has other benefits besides the return of a popular and culturally significant food source for many. Returning commercial boats to the water gives scientists data on what a sustainable fishery might look like in the future.
Obert is optimistic that fishers and conservationists can work together to support salmon and improve access to the fishery.
“We’re trying to find out where we can harvest these fish at a sustainable number, where everyone has opportunities in the industry,” he said. “Right now, that balance isn’t there. But that’s not to say that’s not coming in the future.”