Published January 06, 2008

Officials expect strong run of spring chinook on Columbia

http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/v-print/story/318997.html



PENDLETON, Ore. - Fishery officials project a strong return of spring chinook to the Columbia River this year, but a weak showing on the Willamette.

A panel of federal, state and tribal officials forecasts 269,300 spring chinook to return to the mouth of the Columbia, the largest return since 2002.

The forecast is largely based on the big return of spring chinook jacks - sexually immature 2-year-old fish - last year. More than 16,600 passed Bonneville Dam last spring compared with 2,908 in 2006 and a 10-year average of 8,234, according to numbers from the Fish Passage Center, which collects data on juvenile and adult salmon passage through the mainstem hydrosystem in the Columbia River Basin.

Though the forecast for spring chinook on the Columbia River looks good, the spring run on the Willamette River is expected to be the lowest since 1997 - about 34,000 fish.

If the predictions come true, "2008 will mark the only time in recent years in which the expected Willamette run is weak and the expected Columbia River run is strong," according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Fishery officials monitor fish runs during the season, primarily via dam counts and fish catch data, as Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife agencies plan and execute commercial and sport fisheries on the mainstem and tributaries.

Strong chinook run likely

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004110112_chinook06.html?syndication=rss[/b][b]