Sturgeon retention in the lower Willamette River — a popular and productive winter fishing spot — will not reopen in January.
Steve Williams, a deputy administrator of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said on Friday a decision on when sturgeon retention will reopen from the mouth of the Willamette upstream to Willamette Falls, including Multnomah Channel, may not be announced until Feb. 8.
In 2010, the lower Willamette River was given a sturgeon allocation of 3,600 fish to be caught in a season open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in January through March plus November and December.
More than 3,000 sturgeon were retained in the January-March period. The balance of the allocation was caught Nov. 4-6, the first three days of the fall period. Retention has been closed since.
Washington and Oregon biologists are recommending to their state fish and wildlife commissions the lower Columbia River overall sport-commercial sturgeon harvest be dropped from 24,000 in 2010 to 17,000 in 2011.
If approved, the lower Willamette River portion would drop from 3,600 to 2,550.
Williams said sturgeon fishing in the winter in the lower Willamette can be very good if the streamflow is not too high.
A substantial portion of the 2,550-sturgeon Willamette allocation conceivably could be caught before the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has time in January and early February to decide how it wants the season structured, he said.
“I could be going to my commission for policy guidance with half the fish already gone,” Williams said.
Allowing retention to stay open in the lower Columbia does not pose the same risk, said John North, also of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 2009, anglers kept 52 sturgeon from the lower Columbia through February and 105 for the same period this year.
If the 17,000 sturgeon guideline is adopted, the share for the Columbia between the Wauna power lines near Cathlamet and Bonneville Dam would be 3,425 in 2011, compared to 4,835 in 2010.
Washington and Oregon officials will meet on Feb. 8 to adopt a variety of sport-fishing rules, including the spring chinook salmon season for the lower Columbia River.
Williams said the lower Willamette sturgeon regulations might be announced then.
Winter gillnetting — Four days of gillnet fishing to catch sturgeon in the lower Columbia were adopted Friday by the Columbia River Compact.
The netters will fish from the ocean to Beacon Rock from 6 p.m. Jan. 18 to 6 p.m. Jan. 19, 6 p.m. Jan. 25 to 6 p.m. Jan. 26, 6 p.m. Feb.1 to 6 p.m. Feb. 2 and 6 p.m. Feb. 8 to 6 p.m. Feb. 9.
Nine-inch-mesh nets will be required and there is a limit of 10 sturgeon per vessel per week.
The commercials will have an allocation of 3,400 sturgeon if the 17,000 fish harvest allocation is adopted. The fleet is expected to land about 400 during the four fishing periods.
Bob Fehlen of Washougal urged the Compact not to set a winter season. He said the commercial sturgeon allocation can be caught easily as bycatch during the salmon seasons.
“Err on the side of conservation, not on the side of economics,” he said.
Les Clark, a commercial fisherman from Chinook, said the winter sturgeon season puts some fresh fish on the market at a time when other fresh fish are scarce.
Sand Island Slough — The slough between Sand Island and the Oregon shore at Rooster Rock State Park will be closed to all fishing from Jan. 1 through April 30.
In 2010, anglers discovered a large concentration of sturgeon in the shallow slough. Oregon biologists estimate there were 1,000 sturgeon taken from 4,000 angling trips, a high catch rate and one that could gobble up a big share of the guideline for the area between Wauna and Bonneville Dam.
Williams said there were “ethical issues” in the fishery that will not be allowed to repeat.
