Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact: Anne Pressentin Young (503) 872-5264 x5356
Internet:
www.dfw.state.or.us For Immediate Release September 12, 2001
Buoy 10 Re-Opens to Chinook Salmon Fishing
Columbia River Fish Counts Break Records
PORTLAND - With the fall chinook run 50 percent higher than expected, Oregon and Washington fishery managers announced today that the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River will re-open to the retention of chinook on Saturday, Sept. 15. Chinook harvest will be allowed through the end of the year.
Managers closed the popular Buoy 10 fishery to chinook angling Aug. 30 because the pre-season quota of 8,800 adult chinook had been reached. Since then, biologists updated the run size projections and now estimate that 450,000 fall chinook will enter the Columbia, compared to a pre-season forecast of 300,000 fish.
Although the majority of the chinook run has passed above the Buoy 10 fishing area, chinook continue to enter the mouth of the Columbia.
"There's still fish out there. We wanted to provide the Buoy 10 anglers the opportunity to keep any chinook they caught while fishing for the huge return of hatchery coho coming into the Columbia," said Steve King, salmon fishery manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).
King said that 1.1 million hatchery-reared coho are expected to pass through the Buoy 10 fishery this fall. So far, anglers have caught more than 140,000 fin-clipped hatchery coho. The record Buoy 10 catch of 209,000 coho occurred in 1991 when 934,000 coho entered the Columbia.
The angling rules for Buoy 10 beginning Sept. 15 are:
Buoy 10 to Tongue Point: The daily salmon and steelhead catch limit is four fish, of which no more than two may be steelhead and no more than one may be a chinook. All steelhead and coho retained must be adipose fin-clipped. Other size and gear regulations remain unchanged from those listed in the 2001 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations.
Columbia River Fish Runs Expected to Break 63 Year Record
Counts of fall chinook, coho, and summer steelhead crossing Bonneville Dam broke records this week, prompting biologists to predict that this year's total adult fish return from the ocean to the Columbia River will be the highest since at least 1938.
The number of fish crossing Bonneville Dam Monday reached 57,000 adult salmon and steelhead, the highest single day count in the history of the dam, according to Steve King, salmon fishery manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Since Friday, Sept. 7, the daily count has ranged from 39,000 to 57,000 for a five- day total of 238,000 adult fish. The total count for the calendar year through Sept. 11 is 1.5 million adult fish. When adding in runs returning to Columbia River tributaries and catches below Bonneville Dam, managers estimate the total return in 2001 will reach 3.0 million, the largest return to the Columbia River since at least 1938.
Managers estimate about 80 percent of the total return this year originated as hatchery fish. While wild fish comprise only 20 percent of the run, their numbers are the strongest seen in recent years.
Columbia River Fishery Managers to Meet
Oregon and Washington fishery managers will meet as the Columbia River Compact Thursday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. to review run size projections, fisheries catch to date, and set the lower Columbia River gill-net commercial salmon season. The meeting will be held at the headquarters office of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2501 SW First Avenue, Portland.
The Compact will also meet Monday, Sept. 17 at 2 p.m., also at ODFW Headquarters, to review run sizes and consider additional treaty Indian seasons in the Columbia River above Bonneville Dam.
Columbia River Compact hearings are open to the public and opportunities are given for public testimony.
Bonneville Fish Hatchery Re-Opens to Visitors
The Bonneville Fish Hatchery re-opened its doors to public access today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced.
The entire Bonneville Dam Complex, which includes the hatchery, closed to public access Tuesday as a precaution resulting from Tuesday's terrorist attack on the East Coast. No direct threats were made to the complex, officials said Tuesday. Employees were able to enter and conduct business.
The dam remains closed to visitors.
Bonneville Hatchery is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Bonneville Dam Complex. The ODFW staffs and maintains the hatchery. It is the largest hatchery facility in the state of Oregon and welcomes over a million visitors each year. The hatchery produces 8 million fall chinook, 1.3 million coho, and 300,000 steelhead for release as juveniles. The hatchery also operates two programs to restore threatened and endangered runs of sockeye and spring chinook.
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