Thursday August 6, 2026
Lost Coast Outpost —
Obstacles facing California’s Dungeness crab and salmon fisheries were the focus of Tuesday’s annual fisheries meeting in Sacramento.
The Zeke Grader Fisheries Forum, named after the renowned sustainability advocate and longtime leader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, gives industry experts, tribal leaders and scientists an opportunity to discuss issues facing California’s commercial fisheries with state lawmakers and explore potential legislative action.
Over the last decade, elevated levels of the neurotoxin domoic acid, mandatory gear reductions, whale entanglements and price negotiations with seafood suppliers have led to unprecedented delays for commercial crabbers. Similarly, historic drought and poor habitat conditions have devastated California’s salmon population in recent years, forcing the closure of the commercial fishery from 2023 to 2025.