Chinook Salmon
Credit: EBMUD

October 18, 2022 - Sacramento - Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire, chairman of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, will convene the 49th annual Zeke Grader Fisheries Forum Wednesday, October 19th, which will be focused on some of the most critical environmental issues facing California.

Some of the nation’s top fishery experts will provide a much-anticipated update on California’s iconic salmon population amidst this historic drought. The Dungeness Crab season is almost upon us, and there will be an important briefing on where the season stands. Also, there will be a first-of-its kind panel on the collapse of the Golden State’s kelp forest and what’s being done to bring the “redwoods of the sea” back to life.

Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources Secretary, and Charlton Bonham, Director of California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, headline this year’s speakers and presenters. The Forum will include presentations and discussions focused on the ongoing drought and its impacts on state fisheries, kelp aquaculture in the Golden State, the upcoming Dungeness crab season, and our important fishery management processes. 

“Our warming climate is having a disastrous impact on California’s fisheries and aquatic resources,” McGuire said. “Wednesday’s hearing will be this year’s most critical gathering focused on the precarious state of the Golden State’s fisheries, the massive challenges we face due to the climate crisis, and what State leaders and thousands across California are doing to save our iconic fisheries and keep our coastal communities strong.”

The hearing begins at 1 p.m. this Wednesday, October 19th, and will be held in Room 1200 of the Capitol Swing Space in Sacramento. The public is welcome to attend the hearing.

The hearing will be live-streamed via the Senate web site: http://senate.ca.gov/. For more information about the Fisheries Forum, visit the Committee web site at: http://fisheries.legislature.ca.gov/
Source: Senator Mike McGuire