Status Report: Though Some SW Washington Steelhead, Salmon Populations Under ESA Show Improved Numbers Since Listing, None Anywhere Near Recovery
April 18th, 2024
The status of southwest Washington salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act is generally stable, although none of these fish populations are close to meeting recovery goals, says a recent report by the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Though Angler Effort High, With Low Catch Rates And Late Arriving Run, Lower Columbia River Spring Chinook Fishing Extended
April 5th, 2024
Due to a lateness of the run of spring Chinook salmon and lower than expected harvest, Oregon and Washington extended recreational angling for the fish through Tuesday, April 9. The angling period set by the two-state Columbia River Compact in February began March 1 and was due to end today, Friday, April 5.
NOAA Releases Status Review For Oregon Coast/Northern California Chinook, Low To Moderate Risk Of Extinction; Listing Decision Coming
April 5th, 2024
NOAA Fisheries is nearing a determination of whether the Oregon Coast (OC) and Southern Oregon/Northern California Coastal (SONCC) Chinook salmon should be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, saying the final determination is expected this spring.
Snake River Wild Steelhead: Potlatch River Long-Term Steelhead Restoration Plan Improves Juvenile Numbers But Declines In Adult Fish Continue
February 16th, 2024
An important population of listed steelhead in Idaho’s Snake River basin has been getting the help it needs to boost its numbers – removal of barriers, increasing habitat complexity, fewer scouring spring flows and higher and more consistent summer streamflows.
Harvest Managers Predict 2024 Upriver Spring Chinook Return To Columbia River 15 percent Smaller Than 2023; Expect Drop In Wild Fish To Snake River
February 9th, 2024
Fisheries biologists are predicting that a smaller run of upriver spring Chinook salmon will return this year to the Columbia River than had returned last year, and that fewer of those fish will be of natural origin, continuing a years’ long trend, according to a report released last week by Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife agencies.
Harvest Managers Approve Commercial Research Gillnetting for ESA-Listed Columbia River Smelt; If Numbers Good, Recreational Dip-Netting To Follow
February 2nd, 2024
With another good run of ESA-listed smelt expected this year into the Columbia River and a few lower river tributaries, the two-state Columbia River Compact approved this week commercial research gillnetting for the small fish through mid-March.
Early Columbia River 2024 Salmon Forecasts Show Spring Chinook Lower Than Last Year, Sockeye May See Large Increase
December 13th, 2023
The early run size forecast for spring Chinook salmon next year into the Columbia River basin is slightly lower than the 2023 actual return of the spring fish and much lower than last year’s early run size forecast.
Oregon’s Clackamas River Seeing Impressive Return Of Coho, Wild Spring Chinook, Utility Cites Modernized Fish Passage Systems At Dams
December 13th, 2023
More than 17,000 adult coho salmon and nearly 5,000 wild spring Chinook salmon returned to Portland General Electric’s North Fork Dam on the Clackamas River this fall, according to the utility.
Coho Returning To Elwha River In Good Numbers, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Fish First Time Since Dam Removal
October 26th, 2023
For the first time in more than a decade, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is exercising its treaty right to harvest salmon from the Elwha River.