WASHINGTON (CN) - The National Marine Fisheries Service has cut the number of salmon that may be harvested from the West Coast salmon fisheries, even though it says there have been modest improvements in the beleaguered population.
The quotas for the 2011-2012 Season vary by fishing zone, but the overall reduction for recreational and commercial Chinook salmon is 12,000 fish. In 2008 and 2009, most of the Chinook salmon fisheries were closed due to low population stocks.
The commercial Coho salmon fishery south of Cape Falcon, Ore. will remain closed due to low numbers of wild fish while the number of marked hatchery Coho available for recreational fishing will remain about the same as in the 2010-2011 season.
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