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Salmon Season Updates for 2008
May 8, 2008
ODFW Fish Managers Close Willamette River Chinook fishing
Salem, Ore. -- Citing low numbers of spring Chinook salmon passing over
Willamette Falls and a lower than expected proportion of hatchery fish in
angler surveys and ladder counts to date, fish managers at the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife decided Thursday to close the Willamette
River below the Falls to retention of Chinook, effective 12:01 a.m. Monday,
May 12.
Fishing for steelhead, shad and other species in this area will remain open,
as will Chinook retention above Willamette Falls and in the Clackamas River,
with previously adopted seasons and bag limits still in effect. These are:
The daily bag limit for the Willamette River downstream of Willamette Falls
will be two adult adipose fin-clipped steelhead.
The daily bag limit for the Willamette River and tributaries above
Willamette Falls will remain two adult adipose fin-clipped salmon and
steelhead of which only one may be a Chinook, except that an additional
adipose fin-clipped steelhead may be retained.
The daily bag limit for salmon and steelhead in the Clackamas River upstream
to North Fork Dam will remain two adult adipose fin-clipped salmon and
steelhead of which only one may be a Chinook.
As of May 6, only 1,786 spring Chinook have passed over the Willamette Falls
in Oregon City, with only 935 being hatchery fish. The Willamette Management
Plan objective is 20,000 hatchery fish passing over the dam.
�We�re concerned about our ability to meet escapement goals,� said Steve
Williams ODFW Fish Division deputy director. �We made the decision to close
the fishery below the Falls now in order to meet our hatchery broodstock
needs, and to maintain fishing opportunities above the Falls.�
The mission of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is to protect and
enhance Oregon's fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment
by present and future generations. Headquartered in Salem, ODFW has regional
offices in Clackamas, Roseburg, Bend, and La Grande with ten district
offices located throughout the state. For additional information, please
visit www.dfw.state.or.us
Friday, April 25, 2008
ODFW
Announces 2008 Summer, Fall Salmon Fishing Seasons for Columbia River
The
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today announced the upcoming summer
and fall salmon seasons for the Columbia River, including the popular Buoy
10 fishery. While many ocean salmon fishing opportunities have been severely
constrained for 2008, opportunities in the Columbia River remain
comparatively stable.
Public
discussion of summer and fall Columbia River salmon seasons took place
during the spring meetings of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. While
much of the talk at PFMC meetings this year was about the ocean salmon
seasons, participants in the public process did help fish managers craft the
following recreational fisheries for the summer and fall seasons (including
remaining spring seasons where applicable):
Buoy 10 upstream to Tongue Point
-
Open
for shad May 16 � December 31
-
Open
for adipose fin-clipped adult coho (>16�) and adipose fin-clipped
steelhead August 1 � December 31. Daily bag limit is two salmonids.
-
Adult
chinook (>24�) retention allowed August 1 � September 1, or until a quota
of 6,000 kept chinook is reached. Daily bag limit is two salmonids, but
only one may be a chinook. Chinook may be fin-clipped or not.
Mainstem Columbia River from Tongue Point upstream to Bonneville Dam
-
Open
for shad May 16 � December 31
-
Open
for adipose fin-clipped steelhead May 16 � December 31 in the area below
the I-5 Bridge and June 16 � December 31 in the area between the I-5
Bridge and Bonneville Dam. Daily bag limit is two salmonids.
-
Open
for chinook salmon adults June 21 � June 28 and for chinook jacks June 16
� December 31. Daily bag limit is two adult salmonids and five jacks.
Chinook adults and jacks may be fin-clipped or not.
-
Open
for chinook salmon adults (fin clipped or not) September 1 � 16
except in the area between a
line projected from Bachelor Island, Washington shore across to the
Warrior Rock Lighthouse, Oregon shore downstream to a line projected from
red navigation marker #62 at Deer Island, Oregon shore across to green
navigation marker #63 at Martin Island, Washington shore, where retention
of all chinook (adults and jacks) will be prohibited from August 1 �
December 31. This area encompasses river miles 79-88, approximately. Open
for adipose fin-clipped coho and chinook jacks (fin-clipped or not) August
1 � December 31. In open areas/periods, daily bag limit is two adult
salmonids, but only one may be a chinook. Anglers may also retain up to
five jack salmon.
Mainstem Columbia River above Bonneville Dam
�
Open
for shad year round
�
Open
for adipose fin-clipped steelhead June 16 � December 31. Daily bag limit is
two salmonids.
�
Open
for chinook salmon adults and jacks June 16 � July 31, or until guideline is
met. Daily bag limit is two adult salmonids and five jacks. Chinook adults
and jacks may be fin-clipped or not.
�
Open
for chinook salmon (adults and jacks) and coho salmon August 1 � December
31. Daily bag limit is two adult salmonids and five jacks. Chinook adults
and jacks may be fin-clipped or not. Coho retained downstream of the Hood
River Bridge must be adipose fin-clipped.
Notable
changes for this year�s season include the closure for chinook retention in
the lower river to help protect escapement of lower river wild fall chinook
headed for the Lewis River, and the limitation to chinook fishing time in
the mainstem Columbia below Bonneville Dam to limit impacts on the
federally-listed upriver bright (URB) fall chinook stocks.
As in
all Columbia River salmon seasons, anglers should be aware that emergency
action may be taken to alter any of the above seasons on relatively short
notice. Anglers are advised to keep up to date with the latest regulations
by going to ODFW�s regulations website at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/reg_changes/columbia.asp
or by
calling (503) 647-6000.
The
mission of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is to protect and
enhance Oregon's fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment
by present and future generations. Headquartered in Salem, ODFW has regional
offices in Clackamas, Roseburg, Bend, and La Grande with ten district
offices located throughout the state. For additional information, please
visit
www.dfw.state.or.us
April
17, 2008
Spring Chinook Fishing to Close
Monday
on the Lower Columbia River
OLYMPIA - After weeks of
exceptional salmon fishing, fishery managers for Washington and Oregon
agreed to close the spring chinook fishery on the lower Columbia River
beginning Monday (April 21), when anglers are expected to reach their
pre-season catch target.
By then, the sport catch from
the west Hayden powerlines upriver to Bonneville Dam is expected to reach a
total of 22,300 fish - about 2,000 more fish than anglers had been expected
to catch through the end of April.
"This year's fishery came on
strong right from the start," said Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy
coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
"During the past week, anglers fishing the lower river were averaging a fish
per boat."
By the states' action, spring
chinook fishing will close from the Hayden Island west powerlines upstream
to Bonneville Dam at 12:01 a.m., April 21. Fishing for steelhead and shad
will also close at the same time in that area.
LeFleur said fishery managers
will continue to monitor the status of the spring chinook run on a daily
basis and will consider re-opening those fisheries if returns are larger
than expected. That determination will be made in late April or early May,
after a greater portion of the run has arrived, she said.
Meanwhile, fisheries will remain
open for hatchery spring chinook salmon on Columbia River tributaries,
including the Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis, Wind and Klickitat rivers, as well as
Drano Lake. The Columbia River above Bonneville Dam also will remain open to
salmon fishing.
About 269,300 upriver spring
chinook were forecast to return this year, one of the largest runs in recent
years. Under state fishing rules, anglers must release any wild chinook
they catch on the Columbia River and its tributaries to protect fish listed
under the federal Endangered Species Act. Hatchery-reared fish, which are
available for harvest, can be identified by a clipped adipose fin.
For
additional information, please visit
www.dfw.state.or.us
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