![]() John Eiserich closes up the boat he has docked at Pier 45 in San Francisco after his last chinook salmon trip of the season on Oct. More disturbing are signs that the recent changes to the Pacific Ocean could represent the new normal. 15, when the 2016 commercial season is scheduled to begin. The absence of Dungeness crab during the 2015 holidays jarred many locals, though the Bay Area’s favorite crustacean is still slated to return to tables on Nov. This summer, chinook salmon sold for more than $35 per pound in some markets, about 50 percent higher than in previous years. The impact has already been felt in Bay Area homes. A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Wednesday showed the California fishing harvest decreased in value by $109 million between 20, or by 43 percent. The collapses are taking a financial toll on the state’s seafood industry. And Dungeness crab was devastated last year by an unprecedented toxic algal bloom that delayed the opening of its season for four months. The Pacific sardine population has crashed, and both sardines and squid are migrating to unusual new places. ![]() Young oysters are being deformed or killed by ocean acidification. ![]() Earlier this month, The Chronicle reported that scientists have discovered evidence in San Francisco Bay and its estuary of what is being called the planet’s sixth mass extinction, affecting species including chinook salmon and delta smelt.īaby salmon are dying by the millions in drought-warmed rivers while en route to the ocean. The plight of urchins, abalones and the kelp forest is just one example of an extensive ongoing disruption of California’s coastal ecosystem - and the fisheries that depend on it - after several years of unusually warm ocean conditions and drought. Fisher John Eiserich caught these chinook salmon on Oct. ![]()
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