ocean salmon forecast

(from the Umpqua Post, Mar 4, 8:08 PM EST)

Chinook increases mean better commercial salmon seasons for Ore., but sports facing downturn

By JEFF BARNARD
AP Environmental Writer


GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Strong returns of chinook salmon should give Oregon commercial fishermen their first decent season in years, but declining runs of coho from Columbia River hatcheries and worries over wild coastal fish mean charter boats and sports anglers can expect another mediocre year.

"Guys are pretty excited and happy that we will have increased opportunities this year," Newport commercial fisherman Mark Newell said Friday. "As salmon fishermen we know how it works on the unemployment line. We'll be glad to have the opportunity to go back to work."

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Vancouver, Wash., next week to draw up three sets of options for West Coast ocean salmon fishing seasons. The final seasons will be set in April.

The establishment of ocean seasons was promising in 2007, but the catch was poor. In 2008, the seasons were practically shut down coast-wide for fear of wiping out the Sacramento chinook run after it took a sudden and unexpected drop.

Both years Congress voted disaster assistance to salmon fishermen. Last year commercial seasons were again poor.

Since then greater efforts have been taken to assure young salmon make it through the gauntlet of irrigation pumps and canals in the Sacramento Delta to the ocean. And conditions in the ocean have been improving since 2010, offering more food to the fish as they grow to adulthood before returning to their native rivers to spawn.

Sport and commercial salmon fishing accounted for $3.7 million of Oregon's economy in 2010, down from a high of $17.6 million in 1974 in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to the council web site.

Since the 1990s, the bulk of the chinook catch has been allocated for the commercial fleet and sports fisherman have primarily targeted coho.

The bulk of the chinook swimming off Oregon's coast come from the Sacramento and Klamath Rivers during the traditional commercial season running from mid-March through October. After improving returns three out of the past four years, Klamath River stocks are no longer considered overfished, easing protections that have been in place for years, said Mike Sorensen, skipper of the Newport charter boat Miss Raven and adviser to the council.

The Sacramento is projected to see 729,900 fall chinook return this year, more than double 2009. The Klamath is projected to see 371,100, up from 331,500 in 2009.

Charter boats and sports fishermen can expect to have a shorter season than last year, said Sorensen. It could run from the end of June to mid-August, compared to June 26 through Labor Day last year.

Sorensen said the biggest concern for sports fishermen was whether they would have to release wild fish to protect coho coming from coastal rivers, known as Oregon Coastal Naturals. Returns of hatchery coho from the Columbia are expected to be down. If fishermen are allowed to keep wild fish, the season will be shorter, he said. Sports anglers can also expect to be able to take some chinook.

Oregon's share of the commercial salmon catch was worth $2.8 million last year, the highest since 2007 but still just a fraction of the $18.7 million average from 1979-1990, according to the council web site.

Recreational fishermen landed 23,300 salmon last year, compared to 153,300 in 2003. Commercial boats landed 40,500 last year, compared to 336,100 in 2003.

 

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