Sea Lions Chasing Good Smelt Run Flood Columbia River In High Numbers; Staying For Spring Chinook Feasting
April 27th, 2023
About 200 sea lions were counted last week in the Columbia River between the I-205 Bridge and Bonneville Dam, a 36-mile stretch of river, spurring states and tribes to begin trapping and euthanizing the pinnipeds at Bonneville Dam.
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Tribes, Corps Studying Impacts Of Sediment Buildup (Deltas) At Mouths Of Columbia River Tribs; Impacts Temps, Predation, Salmon Survival
April 14th, 2023
The amount of sediment carried by Columbia River waters to the Pacific Ocean has declined by about half since Bonneville Dam was built in 1935. Much of the sediment no longer moved by the river has found a home at the mouths of tributaries, creating shallow sediment fans or deltas where warm water and predators impact juvenile salmon and steelhead, some listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
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Concerning Drop In White Sturgeon Abundance Prompts Fisheries Managers To Recommend No Retention Fishing Below Bonneville Dam
February 8th, 2023
Oregon and Washington fishery agencies announced they will not propose commercial or recreational white sturgeon fishing this year downstream of Bonneville Dam due to a projected low abundance of legal-sized fish, according to a joint status report released this week by the states.
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Draft Report Documents 2022 Sea Lion Fish Predation Numbers At Bonneville Dam; Notes Huge Take Of Struggling White Sturgeon
February 8th, 2023
Sea lions continue taking a big bite out of spring fish runs at Bonneville Dam. More than 8 percent of winter steelhead and more than 3 percent of spring Chinook salmon were picked off by Steller and California sea lions that prey on the fish below the dam, according to a draft report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Draft Report Out For Comment On Improving Flows, Water Temps In Yakima River Delta To Aid Salmon, Steelhead
February 2nd, 2023
In partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking for public feedback on a draft report studying proposed next steps to restore flows for fish in the Yakima River delta.
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Council Reaches Out To State Agencies To Discuss ‘Alarming Conclusions’ Of Study Detailing Impacts To Salmon From Cormorants On Astoria Bridge
January 26th, 2023
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has asked the owner of the Astoria-Megler Bridge in Astoria to meet with them to talk about the double-crested cormorant problem in the Columbia River estuary.
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How Much Are Sea Lions, Seals Contributing To Salmon Decline In Washington Waters? Will Require Targeted Lethal Removal To Find Out
January 20th, 2023
There is a “preponderance” of evidence that sea lions and seals (pinnipeds) in Washington’s Salish Sea and outer coast have contributed to the decline of salmon and steelhead in state waters, concludes a recent report by the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
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BPA Dishes Out $1.3 Million To Anglers For Reeling In 140,000 Northern Pikeminnow In Columbia/Snake Rivers; Top Angler, $69,000 For 7,000 fish
December 21st, 2022
In 2022, anglers caught and removed more than 140,000 northern pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake rivers, which the Bonneville Power Administration says is protecting hundreds of thousands of young salmon and steelhead from predation.
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Pinniped Removal At Willamette Falls Drops Extinction Risk For Wild Winter Steelhead; 376 Sea Lions Euthanized On Columbia, Willamette Since 2008
December 16th, 2022
A program that has lethally removed sea lions from sections of the Columbia River and at Willamette Falls since 2008 is saving thousands of salmon and steelhead, many listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The program is significantly dropping the risk of extinction for wild winter steelhead in the Willamette River, according to biologists.