CLACKAMAS, Ore. – ODFW fishery managers announced today the Columbia River above Bonneville Dam will close to spring chinook fishing effective Monday, May 10. At the same time, managers announced that sport fishing for salmon and steelhead in the Select Areas near Astoria will re-open Saturday, May 8.
The Technical Advisory Committee recently downsized the projected run of spring chinook from 470,000 to a range of 310,000-370,000, prompting managers to close the river from Bonneville to McNary dam in order to ensure that other fisheries have similar opportunity under the new projected run size.
“We would like to have provided more opportunity in this area, but with the likely reduction in run size the closure of this fishery was necessary to provide opportunity to the remaining fisheries upstream,” said Steve Williams, ODFW assistant administrator for Marine and Columbia River fisheries.
Managers estimate that 3,400 spring chinook will have been harvested between Bonneville and McNary dams through Sunday, May 9.
The season remains open on several tributaries including the Hood, Deschutes, Umatilla and Snake rivers, and will be opening later in the month on the Wallowa and Imnaha rivers.
Managers also are re-opening the chinook sport fishery in the Select Areas – Young’s Bay, Blind Slough and Knappa Slough -- after recent fishing indicated that there were very few upriver chinook remaining in the Select Areas. Almost all the chinook currently being caught in the Select Areas are hatchery fish that return specifically for this purpose.
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