Coho salmon returns to the Columbia River are projected to be 26 percent greater than forecast, Washington and Oregon fisheries officials said Wednesday.
This spring, the biologists predicted a run of 638,300 coho, but that has been upgraded to 803,700, according to Robin Ehlke of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The updated forecast includes 489,000 early stock (August-September) coho and 314,700 late stock (late-September-October) coho, Ehlke said.
“Great ocean abundance combined with less than expected ocean harvest account for the run size upgrade,” she said.
The Columbia River Compact on Wednesday adopted eight days of gillnet fishing from Warrior Rock at the downstream end of Sauvie Island to the ocean. The net fleet will use 6-inch-mesh from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-24.
Ehlke said they are expected to catch 31,000 coho and 1,300 chinook.
Four days of tangle-net commercial fishing also were adopted. Tangle nets are 3.75-inch nets and are fished no longer than 30 minutes at time. The tangle nets will be in the Columbia from Warrior Rock downstream from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 13-14 and Oct. 20-21.
Only hatchery-origin coho can be kept in the tangle-net fishery. Ehlke said the estimated tangle net catch is 2,400 hatchery coho and 500 chinook. Eighty-two percent of the coho handled are expected to be hatchery fish.
Commercial fishing between Warrior Rock and Beacon Rock was adopted for 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Oct. 16., Oct. 19, Oct. 21 and Oct. 23. Eight-inch-mesh nets can be used.
Ehlke said the catch is expected to be 3,000 chinook and 1,000 coho.
Commercial fisherman Jack Marincovich of Astoria said that with 800,000 coho in the river that the fishing seasons have been “real restrictive.”
Les Clark, a commercial fishermen from Chinook, Wash., agreed.
“We’ve had a lot fish all fall and I’ve not seen that much fishing time,” Clark said.
There has been no chinook-directed commercial fishing this fall downstream of Warrior Rock in order to minimize the catch of wild-spawning chinook headed for lower Columbia tributaries.
“The industry really needs some fishing time with these numbers,” Clark said.
The Columbia Compact is expected to meet about Oct. 22 to consider additional commercial fishing through the end of the month.
