Spring Chinook Season to Be Adopted Today

By Allen Thomas, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

Jan. 25–Columbia River spring chinook salmon angling regulations, plus a liberalization of sturgeon fishing rules, will be adopted when Washington and Oregon officials meet today in Vancouver.

The session begins at 10 a.m. at the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way. Netting regulations for the commercial spring chinook fishery in the lower Columbia also will be set.

A run of 154,300 adult spring chinook salmon is predicted to enter the Columbia between now and mid-June. That includes 78,500 for upstream of Bonneville Dam, 52,000 for Oregon’s Willamette River and 23,800 combined to the Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis and Sandy rivers.

That compares to 217,700 in 2006 and is way down from 510,300 in 2001 or 434,800 in 2002.

Forecasts and run updates mean everything in this era of salmon management under the federal Endangered Species Act, where fishing opportunities are contingent on the strength of various returns.

Under a plan negotiated between the state and federal fishery agencies and Columbia River treaty tribes, non-Indians are allowed to kill no more than 1.5 percent of the wild upper Columbia spring salmon run in the process of catching hatchery-origin chinook.

Washington and Oregon then split the allowable non-Indian upper Columbia catch 57 percent for sportsmen and 43 percent for the commercial fleet.

In 2006, sport fishermen had taken their allocation in the lower Columbia by April 14 and fishing closed.

The tipping point where the non-Indian harvest jumps to 2 percent is 82,000. If the upper Columbia portion of the forecast can be upgraded even slightly from the 78,500 to 82,000 or more, angling could reopen after a closed period.

In 2006, commercial fishing resumed May 16 and sport fishing on May 17.

State fishery officials showed four potential spring chinook angling regulation packages to the Columbia River Recreational Advisory Group last week. The two options getting the most support included:

Limiting fishing to downstream of Interstate 5. It is projected this will allow angling to continue until about April 15 before Endangered Species Act harvest limitations are reached.

Allowing fishing in March from the ocean to Bonneville Dam, then downstream of I-5 only in April. Fishing is expected to close about April 12 under that scenario.

The earliest state, federal and tribal biologists can update the upper Columbia River is April 25 or 26, when historically 50 percent of the return has passed Bonneville Dam.

“We’d fish up to a number, then be on hold until we get a run-size update,” said John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Advisory group member Harry Barber of Washougal said allowing spring chinook fishing upstream of I-5 in March makes much more water available with a relatively small catch, and permits Camas-Washougal anglers to fish out of their home boat ramp.

Randy Woolsey, also an advisory group member, said moving the boundary upstream from I-5 to I-205 puts two more boat ramps (Marine Park and M. James Gleason) in play and “gets a lot more Portland people participating.”

Moving the boundary upstream to I-205 would result in ESA harvest limits being reached about April 12 instead of April 15.

Sturgeon — Sturgeon anglers between the Wauna powerlines near Cathlamet and Bonneville Dam had 4,255 fish left on their 2006 guideline when the year ended.

State officials are proposing to boost the guideline from 12,800 to 14,900 for the next two years to catch the underage.

Currently, sturgeon retention is allowed Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from January through July and October through December.

The four-day-a-week closure, plus total ban in August and September, is to stay within the catch guideline.

Obviously, some liberalization will be needed to fill the larger guideline. Two options under consideration include:

Allowing retention on Sundays. Retention would be permitted Thursdays through Sundays in January to July and October to December. .

Allowing retention on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January to July and October to December.

This year, the additional days would be effective Feb. 1.

Public meeting

–Who: Columbia River Compact.

–What: Spring chinook sport fishing rules for the lower Columbia River and commercial fishing regulations will be set. Also, a sport-fishing liberalization for sturgeon retention will be adopted.

–When: 10 a.m. today.

–Where: Water Resources Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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