Monday to reopen the Columbia River to retention of fall chinook salmon
Saturday, October 22, 2005 (11:25:05)

Posted by Lwagg2

CLACKAMAS - Oregon and Washington fishery managers decided effective Thursday, Oct. 20, because risks to wild stocks will be minimal at this point of the run.

Starting Thursday, retention of adult and jack chinook will be allowed in addition to adipose fin-clipped coho and adipose fin-clipped steelhead according to rules listed in the 2005 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations from Buoy 10 upstream to the U.S. Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco, Wash. Oregon anglers may harvest two salmon or steelhead per day.

Fishery managers closed the Columbia River to chinook retention from Tongue Point to Bonneville Dam effective Sept. 18, and from Buoy 10-Tongue Point and upstream of Bonneville Dam effective Oct. 1 because harvest of upriver bright fall chinook was projected to exceed the sport allocation of non-Indian impacts to this stock. Reopening of the sport fishery was allowed because commercial harvesters will not likely use the remainder of the maximum allowable impact rate for non-Indian fisheries.

Fish biologists estimate that 584,800 adult fall chinook have or will enter the Columbia River this year compared to the preseason estimate of 671,400. Both steelhead and coho are expected to return at rates higher than the pre-season projections.




"This is a reproduction of a Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
do*****ent and is not the official do*****ent or regulations of the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife. The accuracy of the reproduction cannot
be guaranteed by ODFW."