Contact:
Joe Duran, DFG Associate Marine Biologist, (707) 576-3456

DFG Office of Communications, (916) 322-8911

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is hosting the annual meeting on California salmon populations and the outlook for 2009 ocean and river fisheries. The meeting is scheduled March 3rd from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency building located at 404 Aviation Boulevard in Santa Rosa.

The meeting will provide the latest information on the status of California salmon populations and the outlook for ocean and river Chinook fisheries in the coming season. During the afternoon session, the public can provide input to a California salmon management panel, which is comprised of individuals that will be directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April. The panel includes members of the PFMC Council, Salmon Technical Team and Salmon Advisory Subgroup. Salmon fishing seasons are developed through a collaborative regulatory process involving DFG, the PFMC, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U. S. Department of Commerce. The input will help California representatives negotiate a broad range of season alternatives at the PFMC meeting during the second week of March in Seattle.

The 2009 Salmon Information Meeting marks the beginning of a two-month long management process used to establish salmon seasons. A list of additional meetings for the season-setting process will be available at the meeting or can be found on DFG's Web site at
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp .

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