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States Reopen Spring Chinoook Fishing Below Bonneville Dam
by Matt Olson
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Spring Chinook Fishing Above Bonneville Remains Closed
Recreational anglers will return to the Columbia River to fish for spring Chinook salmon beginning today, May 17, for a total of 10 additional fishing days through June 15, but only downstream of Bonneville Dam.
The decision to add the extra days of recreational fishing was made Wednesday, May 15, at a hearing by the two-state Columbia River Compact. The Compact also approved 12 hours of commercial fishing on the mainstem river, a controversial decision opposed by most recreational anglers who testified during the over two-hour hearing.
Recreational fishing had closed April 11 after anglers downstream of Bonneville nearly met their allocation, but also after upstream anglers (Bonneville to the two-state border) had exceeded their catch allocation by a number double the allocation for that section of river. Those quotas were based on a preseason forecast of 121,000 upriver spring Chinook by fishery biologists with the U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee. An update by TAC Monday, May 13, largely confirmed the preseason forecast with an updated forecast of 122,400 upriver-origin adult spring Chinook.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release that TAC's run-size update also allows additional upriver spring Chinook for commercial harvest.
"They've had multiple seasons fishing in the S.A.F.E. zones," fishing guide Bill Monroe, Jr. said. "They shouldn't be in the mainstem."
The off-channel areas, specifically set aside for commercial harvest, is a part of the SAFE or Select Area Fishery Enhancement program that also includes developing more selective gear and seeding the areas with more hatchery salmon. SAFE areas include Deep River in Washington, and Youngs Bay, Tongue Point/South Channel, and Blind and Knappa sloughs in Oregon.
The establishment of the Select Areas is a part of the Columbia River Salmon Fishing Harvest Reform Policy, a legislative initiative from 2013 that increased allocations of salmon, giving sport anglers more fish and gillnetters fewer fish on the mainstem river. In addition, the harvest policy sought ways to move gillnetting from the mainstem Columbia to Select Areas in the lower river that lie off the main channel.
However, many of the recreational anglers that testified believe they have been paying through their licenses and Columbia River Endorsement fees to develop ways to keep gillnetters completely out of the mainstem river.
"Gillnets have had record catches in the SAFE zone, yet you continue to put gillnets back in the mainstem," said Randy Woolsey, a Columbia River recreational advisor. "We've been trying to get away from it, but it keeps creeping back into the conversation."
"This fishery (commercial mainstem gillnetting) falls within legal parameters in both states," said Jim Wells of Salmon for All and a commercial Columbia River advisor. He added that the projected catch by the Compact staff is very high -- 678 salmon -- that few boats would go out for a 12-hour fishery and it would be unlikely that the allocation would be met.
ODFW agrees:
"Consistent with Oregon's Harvest Reform rules established in 2017, current Columbia River policies of both Oregon and Washington support mark-selective mainstem commercial tangle net fisheries after the in-season run-update when available impacts allow, which is why the Joint Columbia River Management staff proposed the 12-hour mainstem commercial fishery adopted today," ODFW said.
"The Oregon rules regarding Columbia River reform have an off-channel commercial focus pre-run size update, with an 80 percent recreation/20 percent commercial allocation for the spring. Post update, if Select Area commercial fisheries have been fully planned and set, and commercial impacts are still available, then we look at mainstem tangle-net fisheries," said Tucker Jones, ODFW Columbia River Program Manager. "When we modeled these fisheries during the reform process, we only expected them to happen once every two to four years, and that's about how often they wind up being considered. They can be a small but important piece in the overall commercial economic portfolio and help maintain the commercial infrastructure that is part of overall Columbia River fisheries."
As of May 13, some 72,273 spring Chinook had passed Bonneville Dam, which is 89 percent of the 10-year (2014-23) average and 123 percent of the 5-year (2019-23) average for this date. Typically, 50 percent of spring Chinook have passed Bonneville Dam by May 11, according to the Compact's May 15 Spring Fact Sheet No. 1 (https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/05-15-2024-spring-fact-sheet-no1.pdf).
The daily count of spring Chinook at Bonneville Dam was nearly 6,000 fish May 9, but the daily numbers consistently have been dropping since with just 1,582 passing the dam May 15.
With the current count of fish at the dam coupled with TAC's latest run-size update, the Fact Sheet concludes that the forecasts for the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers in Washington, and the Sandy River in Oregon are sufficient to meet escapement goals.
Joe DuPont of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in his May 8 blog is estimating that Idaho's share of fish will be close to average with about 18,598 projected to be heading to the Clearwater River basin. Some 3,789 of those would be available for harvest. He projects the Rapid River return to be 8,186, with 1,854 available for harvest. And, he is projecting 1,835 fish will be returning to Hells canyon, with 684 available for harvest.
See DuPont's blog here.
At TAC's projected upriver spring Chinook abundance, and commission guidance for ESA impact sharing, allocation of upriver fish (including release mortalities) for non-treaty fisheries is:
From Bonneville Dam to the OR/WA border, the fishery was initially scheduled to be open April 1 through May 2, but due to higher-than-expected catch rates the fishery closed early on April 30, with catches of 1,440 spring Chinook kept (193 released) from about 4,500 angler trips. That leaves a 689 fish deficit and so angling in this section of river is closed.
The Snake River recreational fishery (Washington waters) was open May 7-10 on a two day per location schedule (Little Goose and Ice Harbor) with 806 Chinook kept and 79 released from 7,163 angler hours of effort. Due to higher-than expected catches the fishery closed on May 10 and, with a 134 fish deficit, the section of river remains closed.
The Wanapum Band (tribal) fisheries opened May 6 and are expected to fish through June 14. No fish have been harvested.
Gillnetters in Select Area fisheries have kept 7,296 Chinook of which 153 were upriver fish. The current allocation of upriver fish is 220, leaving a balance in Select areas of 67 upriver fish. No fish have been caught in the mainstem, leaving a balance of 678 fish.
In the Fact Sheet, Compact staff suggested that angling downstream of Bonneville should be Saturday, May 18 through Sunday, May 19, Saturday May 25 through Monday May 27, and Tuesday, June 11 through Saturday June 15.
However, at the request of numerous recreational anglers, the Compact's final decision opens fishing today from Tongue Point/Rocky Point to Bonneville Dam, May 17 through Sunday, May 19; Saturday, May 25 through Monday, May 27; and Wednesday, June 12 through Saturday, June 15.
The Compact staff also recommended a commercial opening 9 am to 9 pm, Monday, May 20, but the final decision at the request of commercial gillnetters due to tidal issues is now to open 7 am to 7 pm, Monday, May 20, Zone 1 to 5 (see May 15 Compact Action Notice here).
Following is a recap of season dates, bag limits and areas:
Downstream of Bonneville Dam
Angling is allowed Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19; Saturday, May 25 through Monday, May 27; and Wednesday, June 12 through Saturday, June 15 from Tongue Point/Rocky Point line upstream to Beacon Rock (boat and bank) plus bank angling only from Beacon Rock upstream to the Bonneville Dam deadline. For exact boundaries visit Regulation-Updates. The daily bag limit is two adult hatchery salmonids (Chinook or steelhead) per day, but only one may be a Chinook. Shad may also be retained. All other permanent regulations apply.
Anglers are reminded that from March 1 through June 15 on days when the mainstem Columbia River recreational fishery below Bonneville Dam is open to retention of Chinook, the daily salmonid bag limit in Oregon and Washington Select Areas will be the same as mainstem Columbia River bag limits, ODFW said.
Columbia River spring Chinook salmon seasons require balancing opportunity with Endangered Species Act limitations, provisions in the management agreement between the states, Columbia River treaty tribes, and the federal government that specify harvest sharing of upriver-origin spring Chinook, and guidance from the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife commissions regarding allocations among the non-treaty fisheries.
The latest on Columbia River fishing regulations are here.
For gillnetters, commercial buyers must report landed catch within 24 hours and state biologists collect data onboard through observations on non-target fish handle, which allows for responsive management to ensure the fishery remains within allocated ESA impacts. Since this is a live-capture mark-selective fishery, in order to maximize survival of released fish, the commercial fishery is required to use tangle nets (small-mesh nets that minimize injury by entangling the target fish by the teeth instead of catching them by the gills); limited soak times (the time nets are in the water for each drift); recovery boxes (a tool to help recover fish prior to release); and each fisher must have mandatory live capture workshop training (where training on best fish handling practices is provided).
The Compact's Spring Fishery Update is here
Related Pages:
Gillnetters Approve, Anglers Reel at Columbia River Salmon Policy Change by Mallory Gruben, The Daily News, 9/21/20
Days of Gillnetting on Lower Columbia River May Be Numbered by Lauren Ellenbecker, The Chronicle, 1/18/23
Put End to Destructive Gillnetting by Matt Olson, The Columbian, 1/15/23
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