Coho Salmon Added to State Protection List

Northern California’s struggling coho salmon population will get an extra layer of protection from the state’s Endangered Species Act, wildlife regulators said Thursday.

The state Fish and Game Commission voted in Bridgeport to place coho salmon from San Francisco to Punta Gorda in Humboldt County on the state’s endangered list. Coho from Punta Gorda to the Oregon border will be designated as threatened.

“It was time to bite the bullet here and list the species as endangered,” said Sam Schuchat, commission vice president. “We’re down to thousands of fish. If we hadn’t done what we did today, the species is going to wink out of existence and be gone forever.”