[ODFW-News] ODFW grant funds 2004 Tahkenitch and Siltcoos lakes wild coho sport harvest season creel surveys

[ODFW News]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Information and Education 503-947-6002, or toll-free within
Oregon at 800-720-6339 
Fax: (503) 947-6009
Web: www.dfw.state.or.us 

For immediate release	Thursday, October 14, 2004

ODFW grant funds 2004 Tahkenitch and Siltcoos lakes wild coho sport
harvest season creel surveys

REEDSPORT - A $13,310 grant from the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife's Fish Restoration and Enhancement Program is funding a creel
survey to assess the results of this year's wild coastal coho salmon
sport harvest season in Tahkenitch and Siltcoos lakes, located north of
Reedsport. The season runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.

Although wild Oregon coastal coho salmon were listed as
"threatened" under the Endangered Species Act in 1998,
spawning runs of coho returning to the Siltcoos-Tahkenitch lakes system
are among the strongest in Oregon and exceed the number of fish required
to maintain healthy populations. 

"Wild Oregon coastal coho have increased significantly during the
past few years," said Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district
fisheries biologist Bob Buckman. "Last year it gave us room for a
limited fishery for a particularly strong wild population." The 2003
season was the first time wild coastal coho had been available for sport
harvest since 1993.

A creel survey was conducted during the course of the season. Although
the quota was set at 500 fish for both lakes, anglers only caught 39
coho. The Fish Restoration and Enhancement Program also provided funding
for that effort.

"It was about what we were expecting, since the season took place at
the end of the run," said Buckman. "What it did represent was a foot
in the door for a full season this year."

This season surveyors will be contacting coho anglers at both lakes to
collect information about time spent fishing, type of gear used and the
number of fish caught. The data will be used to monitor angler success
as well as any impacts on the coho population.

The Fish Restoration and Enhancement Program was created by the Oregon
Legislature in 1989 and is funded by a surcharge on sport and commercial
fishing licenses and commercial poundage fees. The program is overseen
by a seven-member citizen board that reviews proposals and makes funding
recommendations to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission for fish
restoration and enhancement projects throughout the state. 

For additional information about the creel survey call Bob Buckman at
541-867-4741. For more information on the Fish Restoration and
Enhancement Program, or to view information regarding current R&E
Program applications, visit
www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/InfoCntrFish/RnEProgram/R&EHistory.html,
or call program coordinator Gary Galovich at 503-947-6232.

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