Fisheries managers have canceled the early season of ocean fishing for chinook salmon off the coast of Oregon and Northern California and are considering whether to close most of the Pacific salmon fishery because of a collapse of stocks in California rivers.

The best West Coast salmon fishermen can hope for is a "bare bones" sport and commercial fishing season this year, but the outlook remains bleak, officials say.

Federal fisheries managers meeting this week in Sacramento, Calif. canceled early spring salmon fishing in the Pacific off Northern California and Oregon to protect salmon that remain alive in the ocean.

On Friday, the Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to choose three management options for the rest of the season, and will set final regulations when they meet in Seattle in April.

One possibility is shutting down the salmon fishery from the northern tip of Oregon south to the Mexican border—something fishermen are hoping to avoid. Washington may see some fishing, but even if fishing is allowed, many fishermen expect that catches will be poor.

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