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Bill in Oregon Senate Targets Commercial Salmon Fishing on Columbia by Associated Press The Oregonian, March 23, 2011

The sport fishing industry and conservation groups are trying again to force Oregon commercial salmon fishermen off the main stem of the Columbia River and into side bays and estuaries.

Proponents argue a program that has acclimated hatchery fish to return to bays and side channels to be harvested by gillnetters has grown to the point it can support the commercial fleet. They add that fish allocated to the recreational fishery generate three to five times the economic impact as fish caught by the commercial fleet.

But the gillnet fleet counters the plan has no real conservation benefit, and would ultimately spell the end of one of the last commercial freshwater fisheries in the country.

A Senate committee hears testimony on Senate Bill 736 on Thursday.