[ODFW-News] Lower Columbia River remains open to spring chinook angling

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 	
Contact: 	Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356	
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 872-5700
	
For Immediate Release	Monday, April 28, 2003

Lower Columbia River remains open to spring chinook angling for an additional four days

PORTLAND - With fishery impacts to wild salmon and steelhead below the allowed level, Oregon and Washington managers today kept open the lower Columbia River spring chinook sport fishery below the Interstate 5 Bridge. 
 
The main stem Columbia River remains open to angling for adipose fin-clipped salmon, adipose fin-clipped steelhead, and shad from the mouth at Buoy 10 upstream to the Interstate 5 Bridge Wednesday through Saturday. 

In addition, fishery managers shortened the spring chinook season above Bonneville Dam to the same four days per week, effective 12:01 a.m., Sunday, May 4. The area from the Tower Island power lines (about 6 miles below The Dalles Dam) upstream to McNary Dam is open Wednesday through Saturday. The upriver fishery closes after Thursday, May 15. The Oregon bank is open under the same four day per week rules between Bonneville Dam and the Tower Island power lines. 

Fishery managers will meet again Monday, May 5, to reassess the size of the salmon run destined for areas above Bonneville Dam and make adjustments to the fishery. The lower Columbia River fishery could close at that time. The most recent forecast estimated 193,000 'upriver' spring chinook and 109,800 Willamette stock would enter the Columbia this year. 

The Columbia River sport and commercial fisheries are managed to limit impacts to wild fish listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Anglers may harvest only those fish that are marked as hatchery-bred with a missing adipose fin. However, some unmarked wild fish suffer a delayed mortality as a result of being handled. The allowable non-tribal impact for 2003 was set at 2 percent of the wild upriver spring chinook run. 

Since the lower Columbia River opened to sport harvest of spring chinook, anglers have logged 141,200 angler days fishing for the large, good-tasting fish. Anglers have landed 22,800 fish and retained 14,600 hatchery-bred fish from areas below Bonneville Dam. Above Bonneville Dam, anglers have landed 1,140 fish and kept 640 hatchery-bred fish.

A total of 6,400 hatchery spring chinook have been landed in a main stem commercial fishery that occurred in March and other 'select' area fisheries that occur just off the main stem Columbia River near Astoria. The select area commercial fisheries continue into May. 
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Information and Education Division
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(503) 872-5264 ext 5528