Three years after government regulators proclaimed the devastated Pacific salmon fishery a federal disaster, commercial fishermen on Wednesday got word to start untangling their nets and greasing their reels.
The prized king salmon fishery is back, and in numbers that ensure plenty will remain to spawn in freshwater streams this fall, experts say.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which overseas offshore fisheries in California, Oregon and Washington, set May 1 as the opening of the commercial salmon fishing season - the first robust season since 2007.
From Point Arena in Mendocino County to Point Sur in Monterey County, salmon fishing will be open for all of May and most of July, August and September, pending final federal approval expected later this month.
The announcement Wednesday was a proverbial life preserver in a sea of uncertainties for Central and Northern California salmon boat captains, who have been eking out a living on federal bailout money, less valuable fish and even personal credit cards since 2008.
"It's the first time in a long time I've had reason to switch to salmon gear on my boat," said David Bitts, who pilots the 42-foot Elmarue out of Eureka. "We're going to have the best opportunity to fish for and catch salmon that we've had in five or six years."
The council estimates that about 750,000 adult, fall-run chinook salmon will ply the coastal waters this season. Even if the full estimate of 250,000 are snared by hooks and nets, that leaves several hundred thousand to return to Central Valley rivers to lay their eggs this autumn.
It is a stunning reversal from 2008 and 2009, when only about 72,000 and 40,000 adults, respectively, returned to the rivers from their three-year ocean sojourn. The rock-bottom numbers prompted an outcry from conservation groups that warned the demise of salmon could foretell a broader decline of the entire San Francisco Bay delta estuary.
The 14-member council prohibited commercial salmon fishing in California and Oregon for two consecutive years, shutting down processors and bait shops and forcing many fishermen out of business. A much-abbreviated season was approved in 2010.
Theories explaining the crash abound, including the three-year drought, pollution, invasive species and aggressive water diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Central Valley chinook must navigate the delta to reach the sea, where they mature and grow.
Environmentalists believe the climbing salmon numbers are proof that federal limits on water exports from the delta designed to protect salmon and the endangered delta smelt are working. Other experts point to cyclical changes in ocean conditions that boosted populations of plankton and tiny prey fish just as this season's adults were hitting a critical growth spurt.
But another factor appears to be playing a major role - one that's man-made and of the terrestrial variety.
In 2008, as the slide in salmon stocks became apparent, the California Department of Fish and Game trucked about 20 million young salmon, or smolts, from hatcheries on the Sacramento River around the delta to San Pablo Bay. After acclimating in pens, the fish charged for the open ocean. Department spokesman Harry Morse said there's a very good chance those fish make up a large portion of this year's adults.
"When we saw the salmon situation faltering in 2007, we geared up and worked pretty diligently to move more fish," he said. "Now, we're able to gear down because conditions have improved and we've had more wet weather."
This year's fishing window is fairly close to a normal season in many areas - though it has started as early as February in some regions and can go as late as October. Most of June is off-limits because at that time a lot of salmon in the ocean are from the Klamath River and, by law, American Indian tribes have historic rights to half of that allotment of fish. Salmon fishing in October this year is restricted to a handful of days and only in the areas from Point Reyes to Point San Pedro. Commercial fishermen must throw back fish smaller than 27 inches. For recreational fishermen, the minimum is 24 inches.
Fisherman Duncan MacLean, captain of the Barbara Faye in Half Moon Bay, hopes this year marks a major turnaround for his industry. But he's also realistic about the challenges faced by a species and an ecosystem often pitted against Central Valley agribusiness in the fight over California's water.
"Mother Nature has saved us from disaster, but we're putting some tremendous burdens on her," MacLean said. "This year might be a shot in the arm, but we're not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination."
E-mail Kelly Zito at kzito@sfchronicle.com.
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