As projections for sardine populations on the US Pacific coast keeps dropping, commercial fishermen have concerns of possible fishing bans.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) may decide during its April meeting to cancel the 2015 sardine fishing season if independent experts confirm the findings in a recent draft report.

The report by federal regulators showed insufficient numbers of sardines to sustain a fishery and pointed to overfishing as the root cause, according to a local paper.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that Pacific sardine levels in 2015 would fall well below the amount needed to allow for a modest fishing season -- 150,000 metric tons -- according toSanta Cruz Sentinel.

However,