[4] Fall Chinook Run Late And Less Than Expected

Last week, Columbia Basin harvest managers reduced their estimate of this year's upriver bright fall run by about 20 percent. It's now pegged at 199,000 fish. The group also downgraded the tule (lower Columbia) run by about 27 percent, from 52,000 to 38,000 fish.

A few diehards are still hoping that the run is just late, but time is running out for a more optimistic take on the season.

"We're in the tail of the run," said WDFW harvest manager Joe Hymer. He didn't expect any more large peaks in the counts, either. The run has cut several hatcheries short of broodstock, for the time being anyway. Commercial fishing in a select area near Big Creek hatchery in the lower Columbia was curtailed so more spawners could make it back to the Oregon facility.

But in the two days since Hymer spoke, the fall numbers have picked up momentum again, nearly doubling daily counts from earlier in the week, and adding another 18,000 to the overall fall chinook tally at Bonneville Dam of 221,000, leading to more speculation that possibly a lot more fish will show before the end of the season.

Hymer said the Spring Creek hatchery above the dam was still waiting for its 7,000-fish broodstock goal to be reached, but he expected no problem there. In the past few years, hatchery personnel have seen excess returns in the 60,000 fish range.

Tribal fishermen above Bonneville Dam had expected to catch about 57,000 upriver brights in their 88,000-fish allotment, but they have only caught a bit more than half (38,000) and about 35 percent of the limit of wild ESA-listed B run steelhead heading for Idaho.

The tribes didn't expect to reach their projected harvest rate on the upriver stocks by the end of their fourth fishing period on Sept. 15, which is limited to about 23 percent to protect ESA-listed fall chinook returning to the Snake River. Their 15-percent allowable harvest rate on wild listed steelhead is not likely to be reached either. Managers expect more of a 9-percent rate on the steelhead.

Sport fishermen landed only about 1,700 chinook in the lower Columbia Buoy 10 fishery, below expectations. But fishing was better further upriver, where about 5,000 chinook were landed.

Commercial fishers landed nearly 11,000 chinook by the end of August, with more fishing available in select areas where nearly 5,000 more chinook are expected to be caught, along with about 10,000 coho. The commercial gillnetters also fished earlier this week, having given up some fishing time in August for the chance to catch fish in late September. -B. R.

Subscriptions and Feedback
Subscribe to the Fishletter notification e-mail list.
Send e-mail comments to the editor.

THE ARCHIVE :: Previous NW Fishletter issues and supporting documents.

NW Fishletter is produced by Energy NewsData.
Publisher: Cyrus Noë, Editor: Bill Rudolph
Phone: (206) 285-4848 Fax: (206) 281-8035