(KERO) — Across the state of California, the Pacific wild salmon population is in trouble.
Fishermen say even with recent heavy rain and snow the salmon have not come back since last year's blistering drought.
For the first time in 14 years, fishery managers are canceling next year's fishing season off the California coast to help the population recover.
“The forecasts for Chinook returning to California rivers this year are near record lows,” Pacific Fishery Management Council Chair Marc Gorelnik said after the vote in a news release. “The poor conditions in the freshwater environment that contributed to these low forecasted returns are unfortunately not something that the Council can, or has authority to, control."
It's a devastating blow for tens of thousands of people who depend on the salmon industry for their livelihood.
The Chinook salmon population was already in decline because of dam construction and extended droughts from climate change.
