Commercial salmon fishing is banned off California for a second consecutive year, salmon fishermen fear for the future and Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard says it’s “an alarm bell” for the critical state of the ocean today.

Julie told Jim Tankersley of the Los Angeles Times that, “For too long we’ve been taking oceans for granted and been viewing them as an endless source of resources for us.”

Clearly we’re reaching limits, which is one reason Julie was back in Washington earlier in the week pressing the Obama Administration to adopt a set of comprehensive ocean management policies.

On the salmon front, there may be hope for the future. President Obama last month signed a wilderness bill that will put water back into 63 miles of the San Joaquin River, which was once one of the state’s most productive salmon rivers.

As San Francisco Chroniclereporter Kelly Zito wrote, this has the potential to transform “a dusty ditch into a fish-friendly waterway.” It’s long been the dream of the river’s many friends.

Not in time to save the 2009 salmon season, but a step in the right direction.