Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon stated Thursday that the lower Columbia River from Bonneville Dam to Buoy 10 (including the Camas Slough) will close to salmon fishing starting on Friday due to Chinook salmon harvests that are running far beyond expectations.
After preliminary data revealed impacts to Lower Columbia River "tule" Chinook, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, were much higher than anticipated, fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife agreed to close salmon fishing downstream of Bonneville Dam on Thursday.
Tucker Jones, ODFW's Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program Manager, stated, "This closure is a major matter and a decision not made lightly, but we've needed to do this to guarantee fisheries remain within their conservation limitations on these listed runs of salmon."
We are devastated to have to cease fishing before Labor Day Weekend, especially in light of the critical role that recreational angling plays in both salmon conservation and the local economies that depend on this fishery. We unfortunately have no choice but to close. But if it's feasible, we're dedicated to getting people out on the water as quickly as possible.
On August 1, the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia began for mark-selective hatchery Chinook fishing. On August 25, the fishery shifted to non-mark selective fishing, with the non-mark selective section having an especially high catch rate.
An estimated 11,800 Chinook were retained in the Buoy 10 fishery from August 25 to 30, while another 3,500 were released.
According to Ryan Lothrop, Columbia River fisheries manager with WDFW, "Anglers experienced a lot of success in August fishing for Chinook near Buoy 10." Usually, these tule Chinook start leaving the region in late August, but we saw a surge in captures during the last week, and the percentage of tules captured was significantly larger than in previous years.
We unfortunately exceeded the permitted recreational effects on these lower river Chinook as a result of this.
Unlike other fall Chinook stocks that return upstream of Bonneville Dam, there is no method for updating the estimated return of tule Chinook below Bonneville Dam in-season.
Therefore, fishery managers must rely on pre-season estimates when determining how many impacts are allowed to ESA-listed populations below Bonneville Dam through the duration of the fishing season.
Even in a coho-only fishery, some Chinook are still caught and die after release,” Lothrop said. “It’s not clear if the lower river tule stock is coming in above our pre-season forecast, or if these fish are just sticking around longer than normal. Either way, we have to make sure we don’t exceed allowable impacts to this population.
Managers will keep an eye on the fisheries and flows to see whether salmon fishing could be allowed to resume later this autumn.
Sturgeon fisheries planned for later this month are unaffected, while angling for shad, walleye, and other warmwater species is still permitted under permanent limits.