SANTA CRUZ — When it's available, king salmon practically flies out of the local waters to restaurant and home kitchens. In the recent past, however, it's been difficult, if not impossible, to get the fish to the grill, pan or oven.
Season closures and restrictions adopted by fisheries regulators over the past four years has meant that one of the Monterey Bay's most prized catches has remained in the bay. That's forced restaurants to either import salmon from elsewhere, buy from individual sellers or go without.
But 2012 looks to be a return to the boom days. Commercial crews who were let loose on the ocean in early May have been scoring large hauls of the sought-after chinooks, and chefs and home cooks are reaping the benefits.
"It's been awesome," said Sharon Hadley, owner of The Fish Lady in Soquel, who on Tuesday said she bought up as much salmon as she could get her hands on earlier that morning. "For 3½ years we haven't had salmon, and people are coming in just so excited. They live for locally caught salmon. It's really just great."
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