Decimated by drought, salmon fishing teeters on the brink in California.
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Five dry years brought abysmal conditions for the hatching and survival of new fish.
The number of adult fall-run Chinook salmon has subsequently plummeted, with regulators this year expecting the worst return ever of fish to spawn on the Klamath River: 54,000, down from 1.6 million in 2012.
It’s a brutal blow for the salmon fishing industry.
State and federal officials have imposed severe restrictions, with ocean and river fisheries in the most northern swath of California closed entirely for the rest of the year, even for recreational anglers.
The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture will try to bring further attention to the salmon fishing crisis with a hearing on its causes, impacts and possible policy actions, 1 p.m. in Room 2040 of the Capitol.
That issue, a symptom of the state’s broader housing crunch, will be the focus of the Joint Committee on the Arts’ annual review of the creative economy, 1:30 p.m. in Room 3191 of the Capitol.
Those who need help putting it all into context may want to check out the latest conference from the Independent Voter Project, the largely corporate-funded nonprofit that promotes a less partisan approach to politics, focusing on the state of health care in California.
They will present ACA 15, a proposed constitutional amendment requiring voter approval of enhanced pension benefits, 10:30 a.m. in Room 125 of the Capitol.