[ODFW-News] Fish and Wildlife Commission gives guidance for 2004 Columbia River spring chinook fisheries

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 	
Contact: 	Anne Pressentin Young (503) 947-6020	
Internet: www.dfw.state.or.us  Fax: (503) 947-6009
	

For Immediate Release	Friday, Jan. 9, 2004

Fish and Wildlife Commission gives guidance for 2004 Columbia River
spring chinook fisheries
Wolf management plan framework adopted

SALEM - The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday supported
splitting the allowable impacts to wild fish during this year's
Columbia River spring chinook fisheries 40-50 percent to the commercial
fishery and 50-60 percent to the sport fishery.

Decisions on the 2004 Columbia spring chinook sport and commercial
fisheries will be made Feb. 5 in Oregon City by the states of Oregon and
Washington meeting as the Columbia River Compact. The first harvest is
expected to begin later in February. 

Biologists estimate the policy guidance could result in a total
mainstem harvest of about 50,000 spring chinook, split for sport anglers
and the commercial fishing industry. Biologists also estimate that
454,000 hatchery-bred spring chinook will enter the Columbia River this
year and be available for harvest in the mainstem Columbia and
tributaries. Of those, 96,300 hatchery spring chinook are estimated to
be destined for the Willamette River. 

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is the policymaking body for
fish and wildlife issues in the state. The seven-member panel meets
monthly. 

The Commission also supported a pilot regulation prohibiting sport
anglers from removing wild chinook and steelhead from the water in the
Columbia River between Tongue Point and McNary Dam. The goal of the
potential new rule is to reduce the unintended mortality associated with
handling and releasing fish. 


Spring chinook provide tremendous economic benefit to both the
commercial and sport-fishing industries because the meat is prized for
its flavor and it is the first fresh non-farmed salmon of the season to
reach barbecues and specialty markets. 

Columbia River spring chinook seasons are set to protect wild chinook
listed under the federal Endangered Species Act while allowing harvest
on adipose fin-clipped hatchery chinook. Federal law limits the
allowable impact to wild populations from unintended mortalities
associated with the non-Indian fisheries to 2.0 percent of the total
wild run. 


Commission adopts framework for Wolf Management Plan

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday adopted a framework that
will guide the development of a Wolf Management Plan for Oregon. 

The adopted framework has 13 main sections: wolf biology and ecology,
wolf issues in Oregon, wolf conservation and management, wolf-domestic
animal conflicts, wolf-human interactions, wolf-ungulate interactions,
wolf interactions with other species, wolf-hunter/trapper interactions,
research needs and priorities, information and education, evaluation and
reporting, budget, and economic impacts. 

The draft framework, or outline, was developed by the
Commission-appointed Wolf Advisory Committee. The wolf committee will
now use the framework as it works to draft the management plan. The next
meeting is Monday and Tuesday near LaGrande.

The 14-member committee was appointed last year by the Fish and
Wildlife Commission to help study all the issues surrounding wolves in
Oregon and to recommend management actions that will be used once a
permanent population establishes itself. 

No wolves are confirmed to be in Oregon at this time. However, numerous
unconfirmed sightings have been documented. Biologists expect wolves to
enter Oregon from the expanding population in Idaho and eventually
establish a permanent population in this state. 


Commission recommends increasing hunter awareness of Access and Habitat
Program

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday told the Access and
Habitat Board to recommend methods to increase hunter awareness of the
hunting access opportunities that result from the Access and Habitat
Program. Commissioners suggested the hunting regulations and the
Internet as two potential methods. 

The Commission gave the policy direction after hearing a briefing on
the program. The Access and Habitat Program provides grants to
landowners to improve wildlife habitat and hunter access to private
lands. It is funded by a surcharge on the price of hunting licenses.
Since its inception in 1993, the program has funded 273 different
projects. Of those about 75 percent project some public access benefit.

The Commission-appointed Access and Habitat Board makes recommendations
on funding project proposals and other program operations. 

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife currently provides the list
of participating landowners when hunters call the Wildlife Division
(503) 947-6300. Most landowners require hunters to ask permission ahead
of time before hunting on their lands. 

ODFW staff said more information is needed to evaluate the level of
access that is being provided by participating landowners. The
Commission supported the creation of a survey to evaluate hunter
knowledge and satisfaction with the program. 


Commission hears research results on oversize sturgeon fishery

In preparation for consideration of regulation changes at their
February meeting, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission heard a
briefing on recent research results on the oversize sturgeon
catch-and-release fishery in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. 

Research by Oregon State University and Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife shows that about 2,000 fish of reproductive age are reside
in the area below Bonneville Dam. These fish exhibit stress when caught,
and many have hook scars or hooks in their bodies or other evidence of
being caught multiple times. However, many questions exist as to whether
the oversize fishery is directly affecting the breeding population. 

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to expand a
4.5 mile spring-time sturgeon angling boat closure from Beacon Rock to
Bonneville Dam to an 8 mile closure from Skamania Island to Bonneville
Dam. The closure, May through mid-July, protects fish in their spawning
area. The Washington proposal also calls for expanding the boat closure
through the end of July. The Oregon fish and wildlife staff is
considering the Washington proposals and others to reduce catch numbers
and to improve survival of oversized fish that are caught and released.


A catch-and-release boat fishery targeting protected oversize white
sturgeon first developed in 1992 from May to July in the Columbia River
gorge. The fishery increased through 1995 and has since remained fairly
stable. Between 2,800 and 5,300 adult sturgeon are caught and released
annually during the fishery. Oversized sturgeon are longer than 60
inches and some weigh more than 300 pounds.

Current research is focusing on the status of the adult spawning
population and the implications of the catch-and-release fishery
targetting the large fish. White sturgeon do not begin reproducing until
they exceed 60 inches, which takes about 20 years. They can live to be
older than 100 years. 

In other action, the Commission amended the rules that establish the
average market value of food fish for the purposes of establishing
damages for commercial fishing violations. 
###


Information and Education Division
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(503) 947-6002