[4] South Coast Gets Some Chinook Fishing This Year, Cuts In North And Puget Sound
The Pacific Fishery Management Council OK'd some ocean fishing south of Oregon's Cape Blanco this year after federal fishery managers had recommended a total closure to protect weak stocks of Klamath River chinook. The Klamath stock has been hammered in recent years by a combination of poor inriver flows for adult passage and a decline in ocean productivity.
After thousands of comments poured in, including a petition with over 7,000 signatures calling for a fishery that targeted the healthy Sacramento chinook stocks, the Council agreed to allow enough fishing that will still allow an estimated 21,000 spawners in the Klamath, while letting ocean commercial and recreational fishermen more than 200,000 chinook.
From Florence north to Cape Falcon (near Cannon Beach), commercial boats will be allowed to fish three to four days a week June through July, with a limit of 75 chinook per week. They will get only a few days to fish in August, September and October. From Arcata to Fort Bragg, a small commercial fishery will be allowed in September, with more fishing south to San Francisco
The Council had expected 25,000 chinook to spawn in the Klamath this year, the third year in a row that that the minimum target of 35,000 spawners would be missed, but they said low numbers of returning fish in past years had produced strong runs in the future. They noted that the 19,000 spawners that returned in 1999 produced a run of nearly 200,000 salmon. Drought conditions in the Klamath Basin have eased, and ocean conditions have likely improved as well compared to the past few years.
Recreational fishermen will not be as restricted, and will even get to fish near the Klamath until July 4 and after September 1.
With the fisheries worth an estimated $133 million to coastal communities, the pressure to keep them open was intense, and the Council will have to pass an emergency rule to keep to allow it. The Secretary of Commerce must still sign off on the proposal.
North of Falcon, the Council approved a non-Indian catch of 65,000 chinook, with 31,000 going to the sport sector. Most of the 80,000 hatchery coho catch was allotted to sporties as well, 73,200 to be exact. Last year, the sports side was allowed 43,250 chinook and about 122,000 coho, but managers expect fewer fish to return this year than in 2005.
The treaty-Indian catch was set at 42,200 chinook and 37,500 coho. Last year, the treaty share was 48,000 chinook and 50,000 coho.
Coho restrictions have increased with the ESA listing of lower Columbia coho, but WDFW head Jeff Koenings said hatcheries are being "re-tooled" to provide sustainable harvests that target hatchery-origin coho, while limiting impacts to weak stocks.
Some additional restrictions will take place in Puget Sound as well, with a two-week closure on the Skokomish River in September, an all-August closure on the Puyallup, with fishing only open on Elliott Bay from July 14 through Aug. 20 (Fridays through Sundays). -B. R.
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