SAN FRANCISCO — Duncan MacLean is worried about losing the work he has done for 35 years, as the salmon population declines so precipitously that fishing off the California coast may be banned for the second year in a row.

"It's the only thing I've ever known since I delivered newspapers in high school," said MacLean, 59, who lives in Half Moon Bay, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. "There will be a lot of people who won't come back to fishing when the season opens up again."

Fishermen, river guides, charter boat companies, wholesalers and processors will lose income or may even drop out of the industry if the May-to-October salmon season is canceled. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates marine fishing off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington, is to decide in April after holding public hearings this month.

"This is grim news for the state of California," Don Hansen, chairman of the council, said in a statement. "We won't be able to talk about this without using the word 'disaster.' "

California lost about $255 million in revenue and 2,263 jobs last year when it banned commercial and sport fishing of salmon for the first time, according to an estimate from the Fish and Game Department. A record low of about 66,264 Chinook salmon returned to the Sacramento River to spawn in 2008, state and federal agencies jointly estimated.

The council projects that 122,196 will return this year. That's at the bottom of the range it says is needed to maintain a healthy population. The population peaked at 768,388 in 2002, in counts dating back to 1970.

'IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD'

"It's going to get ugly," said Larry Collins, a fisherman who said he was shocked by last year's cancellation. "Guys will start losing their boats and homes."

Collins, 52, docks his 46-foot boat, the Autumn Gale, at Fisherman's Wharf, and said he derives at least half of his income from salmon fishing.

"We're just treading water," MacLean said. "It's not looking good."

Fishermen and related businesses say they wouldn't have survived last year's canceled season without federal help. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, and the U.S. government provided $170 million in disaster relief for California, Oregon and Washington.

Many in the industry are waiting to see whether about $50 million of funds remaining from last year will be used to help them if another season is canceled, or whether the federal government will provide fresh money.

WIDESPREAD SUFFERING

"When they tell you that you can't go out and fish, well that's nuts," said Walt Doll, 67.

In a good year, such as 2004, he could earn $125,000 selling salmon he caught off Half Moon Bay, Doll said. The San Jose resident is relying on disaster relief, Social Security and his wife's income until fishing is allowed again.

"The devastation goes far and wide," said Dick Pool, owner of Concord, Calif.-based Pro-Troll Fishing Products, the second-largest maker of salmon tackle in the U.S. "Had those funds not been available, my business and hundreds of others would have had to close their doors."

Dozens of fish tackle companies and boat dealerships have gone out of business, and marinas are collecting less in fewer mooring fees, Pool said. His revenue has dropped about 40 percent in the past few years.

"We've had red ink every month — we're dependent on salmon," Pool said.

The fishermen troll for Chinook, also called king salmon, with lines hung from outrigger arms over the side of the boat. Chinook are the largest salmon, with adults maturing at 36 inches and weighing 30 pounds or more, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The ocean-dwelling fish return to spawn in the freshwater location where they were born.

ADJUSTING TO SITUATION

The fishery council lists 46 possible reasons for the collapse of the salmon population. Dam construction, elimination of flood plains and other changes to the river are reducing its ability to support wild salmon, said Peter Moyle, a professor of fish biology at the University of California-Davis who will testify at a state hearing this week.

"Salmon are extremely resilient fish," said Doug Obegi, a spokesman for the National Resource Defense Council, an environmental group that won tighter regulatory restrictions on state and federal water projects to protect endangered salmon species last year. "If we give them the habitat they need, they will come back."

In the meantime, Peggy Beckett is revamping her Huck Finn Sportfishing in Half Moon Bay, which used to book seven or eight salmon-fishing expeditions daily during the season. She is remodeling her store and planning ecological trips.

"I'm not ready to pack my bags and leave town," said Beckett, 61, who walks dogs and applied for a job with the U.S. Census Bureau to earn extra income. "I don't want to give in to the fear factor with the economy."