SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Federal regulators say a record-low number of chinook salmon returned to California's Central Valley last year, indicating that severe restrictions on salmon fishing are again likely this year.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council reports that in 2008, a total of 66,264 natural and hatchery fall chinook or "king" salmon adults were estimated to have returned to the Sacramento River basin for spawning.
The sharp drop in king salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall is part of broader decline in wild salmon runs in rivers across the West.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports
The numbers are down from about 90,000 in 2007, which led to bans on commercial and recreational fishing of salmon off the California coast and most of Oregon.
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