Let’s go fishing! Salmon fishing is back in California after more than 3-year closure

SACRAMENTO — Significant improvements in key California salmon populations — specifically Sacramento River fall-run Chinook and Klamath River fall-run Chinook — will allow for more ocean salmon fishing opportunities this year. This weekend, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that commercial ocean salmon fishing is back after being closed for three straight years and that recreational ocean salmon anglers will have more opportunities in 2026. The positive decision from a federal entity comes as California continues to make significant progress with its Salmon Strategy  —  completing major projects and repopulating areas for the first time in more than a century.

“Seeing our salmon populations recover is incredibly heartening and demonstrates what’s possible when we all work together — state and federal partners, tribes, sport anglers and commercial fishing interests, NGOs and others — to do what’s best for salmon,” said CDFW Director Meghan Hertel. “Salmon are part of the cultural fabric of California, and I’m delighted more Californians will have the opportunity to enjoy these magnificent fish whether that’s in the water, on the end of their fishing lines or on their dinner plates.”

Salmon are profoundly important to California’s precious ecosystems and economy. They provide important commercial, recreational, economic, intrinsic and cultural benefits to fishing communities, California Native American tribes, and the entire state. California’s salmon populations are struggling to recover from years of drought, climate disruption, and other environmental and human-made challenges. California has taken significant and meaningful steps to rebuild salmon stocks across California —helping to lead to today’s announcement that opens commercial fishing.