Buoy 10 to close to Chinook retention later this week

The Buoy 10 fishery on the lower Columbia River will close to Chinook salmon retention beginning Friday, fishery managers from Washington and Oregon announced today.

Strong fishing effort at Buoy 10, combined with sustained high catch rates, meant the fishery reached its allowable impacts on Chinook earlier than expected, according to Ryan Lothrop, Columbia River fishery manager with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Previously scheduled to remain open until Sept. 6, the section of river from Buoy 10 to the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line will close to Chinook retention at 12:01 a.m. Friday. That portion of river will remain open for hatchery coho fishing as outlined in the 2021-22 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.

“We were hopeful at the beginning of the season that fishing could remain open through Labor Day, but ultimately the number of Chinook caught at this point in the season is much higher than we expected,” Lothrop said. “This closure is necessary to make sure we’re meeting our conservation and management goals, allowing enough fish to pass upriver, and keeping the coho fishery open.”

In addition to the high fishing effort, another possible contributor to increased catches was warm water temperatures that may have kept Chinook closer to the mouth longer, as has occasionally occurred over the past several years. Passage of Chinook recently increased over Bonneville Dam as river temperatures have decreased.

Buoy 10 remains open with a 2 hatchery coho limit, and is scheduled to increase to 3 hatchery coho on Sept. 7. Chinook fishing remains open upriver of the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line as listed in the 2021-22 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet. All other permanent regulations remain in effect, including steelhead closures; view regulations at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations. Anglers should also check for any emergency rule changes at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/ before heading out, as other fisheries may be modified or closed at any time.