[7] Nearly 350,000 Fall Chinook Expected Back To Columbia

Columbia Basin harvest managers are expecting another good run of fall chinook, though down from recent years, with all components adding up to 347,500 fish. That's down about 18 percent from last year's return.

Lower Columbia hatchery and wild stocks are expected to come in at about two-thirds of the 10-year average, while Bonneville Pool tules are only figured to return at about one-quarter of the 10-year average.

About 185,000 Upriver brights are expected to be heading for the Hanford Reach and above, at about 75 percent of the 10-year average. And mid-C brights are predicted to return in the 69,000 fish range, about 80 percent of the 10-year average.

Steelhead are expected in numbers that compare to the 10-year average, nearly 315,000 altogether, with the A-run index making up about 242,000 of that number, with 42,000 wild. About 56,000 B-run index (78 cm. and longer) fish are expected to be heading for Idaho, including about 11,000 wild fish.

Managers also expect about 367,000 coho to return to the Columbia this year, close to last year's 384,000 fish, but less than the 10-year average. Early run coho will be making up about 294,000 of the total, with late run numbers predicted to be down considerably, with less than half the 10-year average expected.

Treaty Indian fisheries are allotted about 23 percent of the upriver bright returns, with non-Indians getting 8.25 percent. Sport fishermen get a little more than half of the non-Indian share, and are expected to land about 15,000 chinook in the mainstem fishery, while gillnetters are slated to harvest about 20,000 fall chinook in the mainstem--with commercial fishing time scheduled in both early and late August

All together, Columbia River fisheries were given nearly 5 percent of the 42-percent exploitation rate for lower Columbia chinook allowed by NMFS, a reduction of 14 percent from the 2002-2006 exploitation rate.

Inriver fisheries are allotted about 7 percent of the 20-percent wild coho exploitation rate for ocean and non-Indian inriver fisheries. -B. R.

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