A
fishery practised primarily in the
North Pacific. Once common in the
North Atlantic, salmon trolling is now virtually non-existent there due to the
endangerment of the
Atlantic Salmon. However, all five species of
Pacific salmon (
Chinook,
Coho,
Sockeye,
Chum and
Humpy) are
fished on the northeastern shore of the
Pacific.
Salmon trolling is done by trailing long, weighted wires in the ocean off a salmon troll boat (troller). Each of these wires has a variable number of baited and hooked lines clipped to it. The trollers then drag these lines through areas with salmon schools, and the salmon bite the baited hooks, mistaking them for fish. The wires which contain these lines are pulled in either by hand crank (in the case of hand trollers), or by hydraulic gurdies (in the case of power trollers).
Today, the majority of northeast Pacific salmon trolling takes place in British Columbia and Alaska, with Washington also catching a substantial share of fish. California and Oregon, once major contendors in the fishery, have severely crippled their salmon stocks by overfishing in the past, and as a result no longer have much of a salmon fishery. British Columbia, though still apparantly abundant in salmon, is also in danger of going in this direction due to lack of fishery regulation, general environmental recklessness, and fish farming (which may ultimately wreak havoc on the marine ecosystem in the entire Pacific Northwest).
In the United States, salmon trolling is regulated by use of the limited entry permit system.