09-09-2009, 11:10 AM
NEWPORT, Ore.- Sport fishing for salmon in the ocean between Leadbetter Point, Wash., and Cape Falcon, Ore., will reopen Monday, Sept. 7.
Fishing will continue through Sept. 30 or reaching the quota of 96,500 fin-clipped coho. The daily bag limit remains two salmon, but all coho salmon must have a healed adipose fin clip.
On Aug. 26 fisheries managers decided to close the season in the Columbia River Ocean Area effective at the end of the fishing day on Aug. 31 because landings were projected to meet the allowable catch quota. However, catches came in substantially lower than projected because of poor weather, and more than 13,000 coho remain on the quota.
"Delaying the reopening until Monday should provide a better chance to allow the fishery to continue through the end of September without any additional management action," said Eric Schindler, ocean salmon project leader for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The decision came after National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Fishery Management Council, the states of Washington and Oregon, and ocean fishers reviewed the catch statistics of the ocean recreational salmon fishery in the Columbia River Ocean Salmon Management Area at a meeting Thursday afternoon.
The fishing opportunity is in addition to the popular recreational fishery inside the Columbia River upstream of Buoy 10. Coho are returning in huge numbers to the Columbia River. Fishery managers are forecasting that 700,000 coho will return to the river this year, which would be the largest return since 2001.
Sport fishing for fin-clipped coho continues in the ocean from Cape Falcon south to Humbug Mountain (near Port Orford) and is expected to continue through Sept 30.
Fishing will continue through Sept. 30 or reaching the quota of 96,500 fin-clipped coho. The daily bag limit remains two salmon, but all coho salmon must have a healed adipose fin clip.
On Aug. 26 fisheries managers decided to close the season in the Columbia River Ocean Area effective at the end of the fishing day on Aug. 31 because landings were projected to meet the allowable catch quota. However, catches came in substantially lower than projected because of poor weather, and more than 13,000 coho remain on the quota.
"Delaying the reopening until Monday should provide a better chance to allow the fishery to continue through the end of September without any additional management action," said Eric Schindler, ocean salmon project leader for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The decision came after National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Fishery Management Council, the states of Washington and Oregon, and ocean fishers reviewed the catch statistics of the ocean recreational salmon fishery in the Columbia River Ocean Salmon Management Area at a meeting Thursday afternoon.
The fishing opportunity is in addition to the popular recreational fishery inside the Columbia River upstream of Buoy 10. Coho are returning in huge numbers to the Columbia River. Fishery managers are forecasting that 700,000 coho will return to the river this year, which would be the largest return since 2001.
Sport fishing for fin-clipped coho continues in the ocean from Cape Falcon south to Humbug Mountain (near Port Orford) and is expected to continue through Sept 30.