Despite a historic shutdown of coastal salmon fishing, the number of salmon returning to the Sacramento River is collapsing, according to preliminary data released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Returning fall Chinook salmon numbers have dropped to their lowest level since monitoring began in the 1970s, the report said.

The perilously low populations of salmon and native fish are symptoms, according to numerous scientists, of a crashing ecosystem in the West Coast's largest estuary. Numerous theories abound for the decline, from too much water being pumped from the delta for drinking and irrigation to the use of agricultural chemicals. Whatever the cause, Gov.

There has been a commercial "fishery failure" for Alaska's Yukon River Chinook salmon due to low salmon returns, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has formally determined. "Communities in Alaska along the Yukon River depend heavily on Chinook salmon for commercial fishing, jobs and food," said Locke on Friday.