States Issue Status Report For Upcoming Columbia River Salmon, Steelhead Fall Fisheries; Coho Forecasted Returns High, Steelhead Numbers Dismal
July 13th, 2023
The Oregon and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife have issued their annual joint report describing upcoming fall fisheries in the mainstem Columbia River. It includes a review of those fisheries that occurred in 2022 and expectations for 2023 fall fish runs.
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With Summer Chinook Returns Running Way Below Forecasted, Another Columbia River Fishing Season Shuts Down Early
June 29th, 2023
With a lower-than-expected return of summer Chinook to the Columbia River, Washington and Oregon will close the river downstream of Priest Rapids Dam to recreational angling for the fish July 1, bringing the summer season that began June 15 --and was to go to July 31 -- to an abrupt end.
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With ESA Impact Exceeded, Harvest Managers Forced To Shut Down Columbia River Salmon, Steelhead Fishing
June 1st, 2023
After catch data analysis showed allowable harvest impacts to wild spring chinook have been exceeded, Oregon and Washington fisheries managers on extremely short notice shut down salmon and steelhead fishing on the Columbia River.
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Columbia River Harvest Managers Approve Spring Chinook Fishing Days Though Run Abundance Remains Uncertain
May 19th, 2023
With a flurry of spring Chinook passing Bonneville Dam daily the past two weeks, Oregon and Washington decided to reopen spring Chinook angling from Buoy 10 in the lower Columbia River to the Oregon/Washington border.
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Science Review Of 50-Year-Old Lower Snake Compensation Program (Hatcheries) Shows Missed Return Goals For Spring/Summer Chinook
May 18th, 2023
The number of spring/summer Chinook salmon adult returns produced by the eleven Lower Snake River Compensation Plan hatchery programs has declined by 75 percent since the program’s first years and, overall, has not produced the nearly 59,000 returning Chinook adults that is the program’s goal, according to a recent review by an independent panel of scientists.
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Columbia River Basin Upriver Summer Steelhead Return Forecasted To Be Far Below Past Years; Angling Restrictions, Closures Likely
April 27th, 2023
The number of upriver summer steelhead forecasted to return to the Columbia River basin has been declining, year after year. This year’s return of the fish is anticipated to be the lowest count of both hatchery and wild steelhead since the construction of Bonneville Dam -- at only 42 percent of the 10-year average.
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With End Of La Nina, Ocean Conditions Likely Trending Downward For Salmon, Steelhead Survival, Mass Of Warm Water In North Pacific
March 16th, 2023
Good years in the Pacific Ocean for salmon and steelhead, as the last couple of years have been, are an anomaly. Instead, ocean conditions are generally trending downward, according to a NOAA Fisheries scientist briefing the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
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States Approve Recreational Fishing Dates For Expected Decent Spring Chinook Return; Concerns Expressed About Impacts Of Too Much Early Fishing
February 26th, 2023
With a higher than average number of spring Chinook salmon forecasted to return to the Columbia River and pass Bonneville Dam this year, Oregon and Washington approved start and ending dates for recreational fishing in the river.
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NOAA Fisheries To Conduct Status Review Of Olympic Peninsula Wild Steelhead To Determine If ESA Listing Warranted
February 17th, 2023
NOAA Fisheries says it will consider listing Olympic Peninsula summer and winter steelhead threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. All populations of steelhead on the peninsula have continued to decline since 2017.