Managers plan for last springers

The estimated size of the upriver spring chinook salmon run was reduced by nearly 5 percent last week by the U.S. v Oregon technical advisory committee (TAC).

Still, the two-state Columbia River Compact, which met May 18, set additional recreational and non-Indian commercial fishing dates.

Recreational fishing was open on the Columbia River mainstem downstream of Bonneville Dam last weekend. The Compact met May 16 and set recreational openings for Friday through Monday this Memorial Day weekend and June 3 through June 15.

"We're hoping to reopen the fishery again prior to Memorial Day, but that will depend on the count of upriver fish passing Bonneville Dam," said Ron Roler, Columbia River policy advisor for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife last week.

No chinook fishing will be allowed on the mainstem river upstream of Bonneville Dam as that fishery has already met its allocation of upriver chinook salmon.

Commercial gillnetters had a 12-hour opener starting Tuesday evening.

TAC met May 16 and, given the decline in the number of fish over Bonneville Dam, downgraded the inseason run size estimate that the group had just reaffirmed last week at 188,800 spring chinook to 180,000 fish.

Some 119,929 adult spring chinook had passed Bonneville Dam as of yesterday. That’s just under the 10-year average of 129,971 and far below the 191,844 fish over the dam last year on that date. In addition, the chinook jack passage is also below the 10-year average: 8,986 jacks had passed the dam as of yesterday, while the 10-year average is 19,461. However, last year’s jack passage was slightly less than this year at 8,979 fish.

When TAC updated the estimated run size, the single day passage was just 1,855 spring chinook, but passage popped back up to 3,166 May 17, 2,963 May 18 and 2,295 May 18, giving Compact management some confidence that a three-day opener this weekend could likely be followed by an opening over Memorial Day.

“While there is still some uncertainty around the size of this year’s run, we have enough fish left to provide a few more days of fishing before the next run update,” said Tucker Jones, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Columbia River program manager.

He said the size of this year’s chinook run will be updated again next week, and he is hoping the numbers will support another opening Memorial Day weekend but that will depend on the updated run size. Fishery managers Tuesday of this week to update the openings.

In addition to the spring chinook that are expected to pass over Bonneville Dam, 31,100 fish are forecasted to return to Washington tributaries in the lower Columbia River – the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers – and 4,000 in Oregon on the Sandy River. The majority of these lower river stocks generally have turned into the tributaries by mid-May, according to the Compact’s Spring Fact Sheet No. 5.

Passage at Willamette Falls on the Willamette River, where fishing continues, totaled 12,485 spring chinook as of May 18.

Under the U.S. v Oregon Management Agreement, a Columbia River return of 180,000 adult upriver fish allows for a non-Indian ESA impact rate of 1.9 percent and a catch balance limit of 16,380 upriver mortalities. Commission guidance directs fishery managers to allocate the impacts 70 percent sport and 30 percent commercial, the Fact Sheet says.

So far this year, commercial gillnetters in the mainstem river have fished three times and caught 2,168 spring chinook. Some 1,723 of those are upriver fish, which is 59 percent of the 2,934 fish allocated based on the revised forecast.

Gillnetters were required to use an 8inch mesh during their May 24 opening.

The large mesh requirement is due to the increasing presence of shad. Some 12,196 shad had passed Bonneville Dam as of May 19, and the daily count continues to rise. Some gillnetters in the lower river were reporting shad catches of 15 to 20 per drift, while at least one reported as many as 150, according to John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Compact staff expects commercial fishing to net 646 upriver chinook on 60 deliveries, bringing the total upriver catch to 2,369 fish, or 81 percent of the allocated commercial catch.

Select area commercial gillnetters during the winter and spring season through May 13 have caught 4,911 chinook, with just 190 upriver fish, or 70 percent of the 270 fish allocation.

The recreational chinook fishery in the lower Columbia was open January 1 – April 8 and again last weekend for three days. Compact staff estimates those catches total 10,513 from 94,020 angler trips. Of those, the estimate of upriver chinook is 8,026 fish, or 77 percent of the allocated 10,370 fish. Some 2,344 upriver fish are still available for this fishery.

The Compact approved a three-day opening last weekend at the urging of Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and other recreational fishing advocates. With 21 percent of the allocated amount remaining, she doubted that recreational angling would reach the allocated limit even within the three weeks remaining until June 15. After that date the current spring chinook run will be considered summer chinook.

The 3-day opening would result in a catch of about 510 fish total and of those 266 would be upriver fish, bringing the total upriver catch to 8,476 fish, 82 percent of the allocated upriver catch.

The daily catch limit for this opening is two adult salmonids per day, only one of which may be a chinook. Retention of jacks is allowed. All sockeye must be released.

Under permanent rules, the lower Columbia River from the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line upstream to the I-5 Bridge opened May16 for hatchery steelhead and hatchery jack chinook and shad retention opened May 16 from Buoy 10 upstream to Bonneville Dam, according to the Compact action notice.

Recreational chinook fishing from Bonneville Dam upstream to the Oregon and Washington border was open March 16 – May 8 and last weekend for three days. The estimated catch during those fishing periods is 1,446 fish from more than 6,700 angler trips. All of those were upriver fish, or 107 percent of the allocated 1,383 fish. This fishery is expected to remain closed unless additional chinook become available for harvest, the Compact said.

Recreational fishing for chinook salmon on the Snake River (Washington waters) is open on a days-per-week basis in three sections of the river. The fisheries are ongoing until the harvest allocation is met, the Compact said. Catch estimates through May 16 were 828 fish or 61 percent of the allocated 1,386 fish. Some 34,924 chinook had passed over Lower Granite Dam as of yesterday.