Columbia fall chinook run to top 1.1 million

State, federal and tribal biologists predict the fall chinook run in the  Columbia River will total more than 1.1 million salmon in 2015.

Biologist Jeff Whisler of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Columbia River Compact today the updated forecast is for 1,165,600 fall chinook.

That’s about 25 percent larger than forecasted earlier.

On the down side, the summer steelhead forecast has been downgraded to 250,000 fish at Bonneville Dam, with only 20,000 Group B steelhead and only 5,200 wild Group B steelhead.

Group B steelhead are larger, later-returning fish headed to Idaho.

Whisler said the 5,200 wild Group B steelhead is only 44 percent of the original forecast. The wild steelhead are now the stock state biologists must pay the most attention to when managing commercial fisheries in the Columbia.

The compact adopted 10 hours of additional gillnetting in the Columbia between Warrior Rock and Beacon Rock from 8 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday.

Whisler said the net fleet caught 7,000 to 8,000 fall chinook Tuesday night and are anticipated to catch 4,000 to 6,000 on Sunday night.

State officials will meet again at 3 p.m. Monday to consider additional commercial fishing in the lower Columbia.

Coho — The count of early coho at Bonneville Dam is expected to be approximately 27,000 through Sept. 30. That compares to a forecast of more than 140,000, said biologist Stuart Ellis of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

The count will be the smallest early coho tally since 1997.