News Archive

In a significant shift of California’s salmon strategy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has begun releasing juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon from CDFW-operated hatcheries into the main stem of the Sacramento River for the first time.

On April 15, 2025, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted to recommend limited fishing opportunities for California’s recreational ocean salmon fisheries through the end of 2025. This decision will allow for the first recreational salmon fishing in California since 2022. The PFMC also recommended a repeat year of closure for California’s commercial salmon fisheries, the third year in a row.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced today the release of the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future: Progress Report, developed in partnership with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) with support from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

Salmon are swimming again in the North Yuba River for the first time in close to a century. The fish are part of an innovative pilot project to study the feasibility of returning spring-run Chinook salmon to their historical spawning and rearing habitat in the mountains of Sierra County.

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham today joined with the Round Valley Indian Tribes, supervisors from Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, California Trout, Trout Unlimited and other state and local leaders to announce a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a water agreement that will ensure water reliability for 600,000 or more of coastal Californians, farmers and ranchers while allowing the Eel River to again flow free to benefit salmon, environmental health, tribal and local communities.