The Columbia River Technical Advisory Council has upgraded this year’s sockeye run to double the pre-season forecast, from 99,000 to 209,000. Fisheries managers from Washington and Oregon responded by opening a sockeye retention season on the Columbia starting July 1.
“The new projection means there is a sufficient number of fish for recreational fishing opportunities throughout the Columbia,” said Bill Tweit, a WDFW special assistant, in a press release.
“It’s always exciting to see salmon come in above the pre-season forecast,” Tweit said. “Sockeye can be elusive in the lower river, but anglers generally do well fishing for them from the Tri-Cities to Brewster.”
However, summer Chinook numbers are tracking below what was expected, so state managers will close the Columbia River to Chinook retention below Bonneville Dam early. The season was scheduled to run through July 4, but instead it will close on July 1.
The run is tracking about 20% below the projection, and the lower numbers have been evident in slow catch rates. The season will remain open above Bonneville.
When runs are trending upward and coming in above the projections, that is often an indication of good conditions in the ocean. When conditions are poor the runs tend to come in below expectations.
Chinook spend more time in the salt than sockeye, which means that the adults returning now were in the salt during the really bad times. The sockeye returning this year may have missed the worst of it.
So, does the sockeye return mean things have turned around for the Columbia salmon runs?
Maybe, said Lance Fisher of Lance Fisher Fishing.
“This could be the turn-around,” he said, “but I would not bet on it yet.”
“When we will really find out is if we see evidence in the coho return this year. If coho and winter steelhead turn around, it could mean the trend could be going in another direction.”
Fisher noted that early season coho in the ocean this year have been nice sized, and that could be another indicator of better times to come.
Summer steelhead also seem to be tracking better than last year, which could be another indication of improving ocean conditions.
