the film forum library tutorial contact

Columbia Closure Lifted Below Bonneville Dam by Bill Monroe The Oregonian, June 9, 2016

Oregon and Washington have opened the Columbia River to sportfishing from a boat between Beacon Rock and the deadline below Bonneville Dam, starting Friday.

The bag limit will remain one hatchery chinook per day in a daily limit of two adult hatchery salmon/steelhead until June 16, when two hatchery chinook can be kept. Sockeye salmon must be released.

The area has been closed to fishing from a boat for the entire spring chinook salmon season and was due to open next week, June 16, for summer chinook and sockeye.

Biologists said enough salmon have crossed Bonneville to meet treaty obligations and federal guidelines.

The 2016 pre-season forecast of 188,800 upriver spring chinook will come in closer to 184,000, they said. Spring chinook counts end June 15 and chinook salmon after that date are considered summer chinook until Aug. 1.

The summer chinook forecast is 93,300 adults, upriver summer steelhead is 256,200 and sockeye are 101,600.

Last year's sockeye forecast of 290,200 actually returned 512,800, although at least half are believed to have died in unseasonably warm water.

This year's sudden appearance of 6,386 through Tuesday is far greater than the 500 anticipated by this date. Biologists said half the sockeye run will usually have passed Bonneville by June 27.