Last Day For Commercial Salmon Fishing

John McManus with the Golden Gate Salmon Association says it was a good year.  Salmon were fetching between five and eight dollars-a-pound at market.

"The prices were good," he says.  "People made money.  That money is rippling out through the coastal economies. I've heard it said anecdotally that this was probably the best year people have seen in about ten years."

McManus says fishermen reported catching and releasing a large number of two-year-old salmon.

"We're optimistic.  We're seeing a lot of small fish out in the ocean right now that will stay out for another year and return as adults next year.  For 2015, we're worried.  When baby salmon migrated from the Sacramento River out into the ocean in the Spring of 2013, they encountered low-flow conditions."

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council says 373,000 salmon were caught by commercial and sport fishermen through September.  That was up 61,000 from the year before.

The next update for this year should be available in a couple of weeks.  Final numbers will be released next February.

The council expects a similar salmon catch next year, but will not forecast beyond that.

Recreational fishing is still open until November 10.