Sturgeon anglers in the Bonneville pool of the Columbia River have exceeded their catch allocation and fishing scheduled for July 1 is cancelled.
Washington and Oregon officials made the decision in a conference call on Wednesday.
The Bonneville pool has a retention guideline of 325 sturgeon a year, split between winter and summer seasons.
Robin Ehlke, assistant Columbia River policy coordinator for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said sportmen caught 157 sturgeon from the guideline in the winter season, leaving 168 for summer.
It was assumed anglers would catch about 100 fish on June 18 and around 50 on July 1.
However, the catch for Saturday is estimated at 185, putting the number 17 over the allocation for the year, Ehlke said.
“There’s no room to continue,’’ said Ron Roler of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing will continue, except for a total closure through July from The Dalles Dam downstream for 1.8 miles to a line from the upstream dock at the Port of The Dalles boat ramp across to a marker on the Washington shore.
The 100-sturgeon allocation for The Dalles pool was filled on April 30. The 500-sturgeon allocation for John Day pool closed May 29, exceeding its number by 37 fish.
Lower Columbia — Sturgeon retention downstream of Bonneville Dam is closed permanently.
Upper Columbia — Washington has announced anglers will be allowed to retain two hatchery-origin sturgeon daily between 38 and 72 inches fork length from July 1 through Sept. 30 in the Wanapum and Priest Rapids pools of the Columbia River.
It will be the first retention in that section of the Columbia in two decades.
Several thousand juvenile sturgeon were released in 2003 and have grown to a harvestable size. About 4,000 sturgeon are believe to reside in the Wanapum pool and 2,000 in Priest Rapids.
The retention season is to remove hatchery fish to reduce interaction with wild sturgeon, said Chad Jackson, a district fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Angler success and participation will determine if the state reopens the fishery after the scheduled Sept. 30 closing.
