One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
The King Is Back: Local Salmon Shortage May Be Over
Salmon via Shutterstock
Good news for seafood lovers -- after years of waiting, the local salmon recession may have ended.
Salmon season opened May 1, and according to the Los Angeles Times, initial reports look promising that the king of salmon, chinook, is making a comeback.
Local fisheries bring in 5 to 7 million pounds of king salmon in a good year. This year's catch should total almost 3 million pounds, according to the California Salmon Council. In the past two years, there was a very limited supply, and back in 2008 and 2009, salmon season was called off entirely due to the severe shortage.
Low catches were attributed to water diversions from rivers that produce salmon and ocean conditions that reduced the amount of kill, which salmon eat.
Salmon is the third-most popular seafood in the U.S., after shrimp and canned tuna, and about 600 million pounds are consumed annually, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Unlike the more common Atlantic salmon raised in fish farms, California's coast is where king salmon is caught, the fancy kind served as steaks, not in cans.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
