West Marin’s recreational salmon fishing season is poised to open on Saturday for the month of April amid reports from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that show lower salmon abundance for 2016 than was previously expected. Specific dates and regulations for beyond April will be determined after a series of meetings held in April, but “are expected to be more restrictive than last year to protect vulnerable stocks such as Klamath River fall Chinook and Sacramento River winter Chinook,” according to Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Simon. California’s commercial season has yet to receive an opening date or regulations. Three alternative proposals on catch regulations, ranging from fewer fishing days to full closures in some areas, are available for public comment. Through April, sport fishermen off West Marin’s shores will be limited to two salmon per day, caught only with one rod per angler and no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks. While many sport fishermen are eager to hit the water, some commercial anglers see the hold-off on their season opener and the low salmon forecasts as a sign of troubling times ahead. “How can you be very excited about it when they’re damn near going extinct?” asked Josh Churchman, a lifelong Bolinas fisherman. “That whole great run of Chinook salmon is just about petering out.” The majority of Chinook salmon—California’s most popular commercial stock—originates from the Sacramento and Klamath Rivers. Forecasts projected 299,600 adult fall Sacramento River Chinook and 142,200 adult fall Klamath River Chinook—both numbers down from previous years. Ms. Simon attributed California’s ongoing drought as a main contributor to the salmon decline. For Mr. Churchman—who hauled as much as $10,000 from salmon catches during in the late-1980s—local fishermen shouldn’t bank on expecting the fish to rebound anytime soon. In recent years, he’s switched over to catching black cod to make sure he can support himself. “Other fish are taking their place, which is the way nature works,” Mr. Churchman said. “It’s been horrible the last couple of years.”