Low Coho Returns to Columbia River May Hamper Washington State Fishing
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by Susan Chambers - March 2, 2016
Another decent return of hatchery Chinook salmon to the Columbia River is forecast this year, but expected low returns of coho could put a damper on salmon fisheries in the river, along the coast and in Puget Sound.
Forecasts for Chinook, coho, sockeye and chum salmon, developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and treaty tribes, were released Tuesday at a public meeting in Olympia.
Salmon fisheries will be constrained in several areas this year because of low returns of wild and hatchery coho, said John Long, salmon fisheries policy lead for WDFW. The forecast of about 256,000 Puget Sound coho, for example, is about one-third the size of the run predicted in 2015.
Farther south, about 380,000 Columbia River coho are projected to return this year, roughly half the number forecasted to return in 2015. Only 242,000 coho actually returned last year to the Columbia River, where some coho stocks are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act...
To Read Full Story Login Below.