[ODFW-News] Salmon angling on Columbia River closes Friday

[ODFW News]

For Immediate Release Wednesday, April 12, 2006
 
Salmon angling on Columbia River closes Friday

SALEM - With spring chinook runs on the Columbia River looking very
similar to last year's, Oregon and Washington fishery managers Tuesday
decided to close all 
sport angling for spring chinook in the Columbia River below the I-5
Bridge, effective 11:59 p.m. Thursday night.  

The decision closes the recreational fishing season for salmon,
steelhead and shad in the mainstem Columbia River between the mouth at
Buoy 10 upstream to I-5. Salmon, steelhead, and shad angling is already
closed in the Columbia River from the I-5 Bridge upstream to Bonneville
Dam.  Recreational fishing for salmon, steelhead, and shad in the
Columbia River from Bonneville to McNary Dam (excluding salmon angling
from a boat and from the Washington shore between Bonneville Dam and
Tower Island power lines) remains open. All tributaries below Bonneville
Dam also remain open as per permanent regulations. If the counts for
spring chinook at Bonneville Dam improve during the coming weeks,
fishery managers will consider re-opening the fishing seasons. 

The upriver spring chinook count through April 10 at Bonneville Dam
totaled 121 fish. Passage for this date is comparable to 2005 - one of
the lowest spring chinook counts on record for this date. The 10-year
average for this date is 19,400 adult chinook. For years with late runs,
the average is approximately 1,100 fish. Upriver spring chinook run
sizes cannot be updated until late April when significant passage has
occurred.

Spring chinook counts at Willamette Falls totaled 35 fish as of April 7,
compared to 404 fish for the same time last year. Willamette spring
Chinook run sizes cannot be updated until early May.

Fish managers set the Columbia River spring chinook fishery based on the
number of fish expected to return from the ocean and the allowable
impact to wild salmon and steelhead stocks listed under the federal
Endangered Species Act. 

"Impacts" are the unintended mortalities associated with handling and
releasing wild fish. The allowed non-Indian impacts are 2 percent of the
total runs of ESA -listed Snake River spring/summer chinook and Upper
Columbia River spring chinook. 

Additional information about the Columbia River spring chinook season
also may be found on ODFW's Web page at
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/OSCRP/CRM/action_notes.html .
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