CDFW News

Del Norte County Razor Clam Fishery Closes Due to Public Health Hazard; Monterey Bay Anchovy and Sardine Restrictions Lifted as Health Concern Alleviated

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:57:52 GMT

Highlighting the dynamic nature of California’s ocean ecosystem, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Acting Director Valerie Termini closed the recreational razor clam fishery in Del Norte County (PDF) today following a recommendation from state health agencies (PDF) that consumption of razor clams in the area poses a significant human health threat for domoic acid exposure.

At the same time, Termini lifted the commercial fishing restrictions on northern anchovy and Pacific sardine (PDF) in Monterey Bay when taken for human consumption. This action comes after state health agencies recommended (PDF) that northern anchovy and Pacific sardine no longer pose a human health risk if consumed.

Razor clam sampling from Crescent Beach in Del Norte County in mid-July (PDF) found clams exceeding the current domoic acid federal action level. In Monterey Bay, however, samples in July show concentrations of domoic acid (PDF) in northern anchovy and Pacific sardine have fallen below the federal action level that prohibit commercial distribution of seafood products for human consumption.

Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin that under certain conditions is produced by Pseudo-nitzschia, a naturally occurring, single-celled marine alga. Domoic acid can accumulate in fish without the organism itself becoming ill. At low levels, domoic acid exposure can cause nausea, diarrhea and dizziness in humans. At higher levels, it can cause persistent short-term memory loss, seizures and can in some cases be fatal.

The recreational razor clam fishery in Humboldt County remains closed due to elevated levels of domoic acid. The closure, which began in May 2024, remains in effect until state health agencies determine razor clams no longer pose a health risk.

CDFW will continue to work with the California Department of Public Health and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to collect, monitor and analyze razor clams to determine when the recreational razor clam fishery can be reopened safely in these areas.

Information will be updated on CDFW’s fishery information and health advisories

To get the latest information on current fishing season closures related to domoic acid, call CDFW’s Domoic Acid Fishery Information Line at (831) 649-2883.

For the latest consumption warnings, call the California Department of Public Health’s Biotoxin Information Line at (510) 412-4643 or toll-free at (800) 553-4133.

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Media Contacts:
Christy Juhasz, Razor Clams, CDFW Marine Region, (707) 292-2480
John Ugoretz, Sardine and Anchovy, CDFW Marine Region, (562) 338-3068
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120

Jason Roberts Named Regional Manager for CDFW’s Northern Region

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:09:08 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has named Jason Roberts as the new Regional Manager for its Northern Region.

Roberts has more than two decades of experience with CDFW as a fisheries biologist, supervisor, program manager, policy expert and tribal liaison. He joined CDFW’s Northern Region in 2014 and, among other assignments, managed CDFW’s Upper Sacramento River Basin fisheries efforts and most recently served as Inland Fisheries Program Manager.

Roberts was instrumental in two of CDFW’s most ambitious initiatives to help restore north state Chinook salmon populations: The pilot program with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and federal partners to return endangered, winter-run Chinook salmon to their historic spawning and rearing grounds in the McCloud River above the Shasta Dam and the removal of four California dams on the Klamath River, the largest dam removal effort in world history.

“Jason’s leadership, deep technical knowledge and steady approach to complex challenges have made him an invaluable part of our Northern Region,” said CDFW Director Meghan Hertel. “His experience and longstanding relationships across the department and in our northernmost communities will serve him and all of us well in this new role.”

Headquartered in Redding, CDFW’s Northern Region encompasses nine counties in northern California: Del Norte, Humbold, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity. Roberts replaces Tina Bartlett, who retired earlier this year.

Roberts was born and raised in Yuba City, Calif., and earned a bachelor’s degree in biological conservation from California State University, Sacramento. He joined CDFW in 2004 as a Scientific Aid.

Roberts lives in Redding with his wife and two sons. Away from work, he enjoys coaching youth soccer, fishing, camping and water sports with his family, particularly on Shasta Reservoir and Whiskeytown Lake.

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Media Contact:
Alicia de la Garza, CDFW Communications, (916) 754-7237

CDFW Rescues Nearly 6,000 Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout Stranded in Pine Creek

Wed, 20 May 2026 14:22:14 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) this spring conducted the largest rescue of Eagle Lake rainbow trout in more than a decade, returning approximately 5,800 adult fish to Eagle Lake that were at risk of becoming stranded in the lake’s main tributary, Pine Creek.

The emergency efforts occurred over four days in March and April and involved more than 25 CDFW biologists, hatchery staff and several community volunteers.

“These fish are long-lived so there’s a very good chance that fish returned to the lake could return in subsequent years to spawn again,” said Paul Divine, CDFW’s District Fisheries Biologist for Lassen and Modoc counties. “And it’s also putting adult-sized fish back in the lake that could be enjoyed by anglers to catch as well.”

Eagle Lake opens to trout fishing on Saturday, May 23 with a two-fish daily limit and a four-fish possession limit. Eagle Lake rainbow trout are endemic to Eagle Lake and its main tributary, Pine Creek. Catching an Eagle Lake rainbow trout within Eagle Lake qualifies toward CDFW’s Heritage Trout Challenge. Anglers can report their angling experience at CDFW's California Inland Recreational Angler Survey (CIRAS).

Eagle Lake rainbow trout play a significant role in CDFW’s trout hatchery operations as the popular sport fish are stocked far and wide for recreational fishing in waters across the state ranging from Lake Annie in Modoc County to Cuyamaca Lake in San Diego County.

Prior to the fish rescue, CDFW was able to meet its spawning goals, collecting 1.3 million fertilized eggs from 320 pairs of Eagle Lake rainbow trout. About 170,000 of those offspring will be returned to Eagle Lake to support the fishery.

Fish strandings are not a new phenomenon at Pine Creek. CDFW records document periodic rescues dating back to 1959. The lower 25 miles of Pine Creek is seasonal and completely dependent on snowmelt for its flows.

Unseasonably warm weather this past February and March accelerated runoff and Pine Creek flows into Eagle Lake, triggering an early spawning run among the rainbow trout. Overall snowpack levels were low, however, and diminished quickly in the warm weather, potentially stranding thousands of trout within Pine Creek’s deeper pools and forcing CDFW to mobilize the largest emergency trout rescue there in more than a decade. The fish were collected using backpack electrofishing units, block nets and dip nets. The fish ranged in size from 9 to 24 inches, some weighing 4 to 5 pounds.

“Pine Creek has always been unpredictable, but we’re seeing more extremes over the last 10 years,” said Divine, who has managed the Eagle Lake fishery and overseen spawning operations there for nearly 20 years.

Pine Creek’s flows have dried up three times in the last 10 years, preventing Eagle Lake’s rainbow trout from accessing their primary spawning and rearing grounds altogether. CDFW’s spawning operations conducted this past March were the earliest to occur in 40 years.

CDFW Photo: Pine Creek as it looked in early April 2026 necessitating a large fish rescue.

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Media Contacts:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858
Paul Divine, CDFW Northern Region, (530) 251-6712

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Chinook Fishing to Reopen on Klamath, Trinity and Sacramento Rivers After 3-Year Closure

Tue, 12 May 2026 16:02:59 GMT

Following three consecutive years of closure, salmon fishing will return to the Klamath River Basin and Sacramento River for the upcoming summer and fall seasons. More good news comes for inland anglers with a full season on the Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers after a shortened season in 2025. These added fishing opportunities come as a result of an increase in numbers of adult Chinook salmon returning from the ocean to the Klamath Basin and Central Valley.

The California Fish and Game Commission at its May 6 meeting adopted amendments to sport fishing regulations specifying season dates, bag and possession limits for the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley, and a quota for the Klamath and Trinity rivers. The adopted regulations aim to protect salmon as populations are expected to continue to rebound as a result of actions guided by California's Salmon Strategy for a Hotter Drier Future (PDF).

“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is incredibly encouraged to see our public and private collaborative efforts pay off, allowing us to expand opportunities for California’s dedicated angling community while maintaining a steadfast commitment to long-term population recovery,” said CDFW Director Meghan Hertel. “It is a moment of genuine celebration for everyone invested in the health of our watersheds. CDFW looks forward to seeing anglers return to the Klamath Basin and Central Valley for fishing and fun on the river.”

Increases in hatchery production, investments in salmon research and habitat restoration projects, a series of good water years, dam removals and inland and ocean fishery closures have all aligned to bring Chinook and with that, Chinook fishing, back to the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley.

For the Klamath Basin, fishing will open for late spring-run Chinook salmon July 1 and will continue until Aug. 14 on the Klamath River and Aug. 31 on the Trinity River. Fall-run Chinook salmon fishing will begin on Aug. 15 on the Klamath River and Sept. 1 on the Trinity River and continue until Dec. 31. The fall-run adult quota is 3,248 fish, though fishing for jacks will continue after the adult quota is met. For the late spring-run salmon fishery, the daily bag limit is one fish of any size and the possession limit is two fish. For the fall-run salmon fishery, the daily bag limit is two fish, only one of which can be an adult greater than 23 inches; the possession limit is six fish, of which only three may be adults greater than 23 inches.

For the Central Valley, the general fall-run salmon fishing season will open on July 16 and close on Dec. 16, with some variation for upper and lower stretches of the rivers. For each tributary a daily bag limit of two fish and a possession limit of four fish of any size has been set.

All regulations, season dates and boundaries will be printed in the Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations (PDF) when available.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council finalized its recommendations for California’s recreational and commercial ocean salmon seasons and harvest limits at its April 7-12 meeting. For more information about the 2026 ocean salmon fishing season, see the press release.

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Media Contacts:
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120
Sheena Holley, CDFW Fisheries Branch

CDFW Pilot Program Seeks to Establish Bass Fishery at Gibson Ranch

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:42:51 GMT

Sacramento County Park Pond Stocked with Smallmouth, Largemouth and Spotted Bass

Responding to angler interest in more close-to-home, warmwater fishing opportunities, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has stocked smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass into the park pond at Gibson Ranch (YouTube) in Sacramento County.

“We understand that most of California’s licensed anglers live in urban, metropolitan areas so creating diverse angling opportunities close to home is really important to keep these anglers engaged,” said Farhat Bajjaliya, a CDFW Fisheries Branch supervisor. “Creating a new fishing opportunity at a place like Gibson Ranch allows these anglers to get out close to home in a really beautiful area, a nature-like setting, and, hopefully, catch something.”

Gibson Ranch is a popular, 355-acre Sacramento County park located near the rural community of Elverta but still less than 15 miles away from downtown Sacramento. CDFW’s pre-stocking evaluations of the 7.5-acre Gibson Ranch pond showed an abundant food supply – including sunfish, crayfish and bullfrogs – to support the three types of black bass introduced. CDFW will continue to monitor the pond to see how the bass fare and how anglers respond to the new fishing opportunity.

Michael Mamola, a fisheries biologist with CDFW’s North Central Region, said many shallow farm ponds like the one at Gibson Ranch offer quality warmwater fish habitat, including the opportunity for natural reproduction.

“We had the perfect water body with great habitat that didn’t have a lot of fish in it,” Mamola said in choosing Gibson Ranch for the pilot effort.

The stocking (YouTube) was also fortuitous with the bass coming from Lake Berryessa by way of the International Sportsmen’s Exposition (ISE) in Sacramento in January. CDFW annually gathers bass and other local fish species for the ISE’s massive, 5,000-gallon aquarium demonstration tank. After the ISE, several dozen bass were diverted for stocking at Gibson Ranch.

“We got the fish into Gibson a few months before they were ready to spawn,” said Mamola. “So all those fish we put in are going to be staging in the shallow water, getting ready to build their nests, lay their eggs and, hopefully, create that next generation of bass.”

Angler observations shared through the California Inland Recreational Angler Survey (CIRAS), Fishing in the City events and other public outreach efforts helped CDFW better understand local interest in close‑to‑home, warmwater fishing opportunities. Based on this input and CDFW’s broader fisheries assessments, Gibson Ranch will rejoin the Fishing in the City program and is slated to receive seasonal catfish and trout plants to complement the black bass fishery and support year‑round angling.

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Media Contacts: 
Michael Mamola, CDFW North Central Region, (916) 375-5485
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3848