Commercials to resume salmon fishing on Tuesday

Gillnetting in the lower Columbia River will resume Tuesday when the commercial fleet targets on coho salmon downstream of Woodland.

The Columbia River Compact today adopted a commercial fishing period of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday from Warrior Rock near the downstream tip of Sauvie Island to the coast with 6-inch-maximum-mesh nets.

The commercials have taken about 84,000 chinook salmon in gillnet and seine fisheries in the lower Columbia since the beginning of August, said Jeff Whisler of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The commercial coho catch totals about 3,600 fish.

Although coho returns have been poor so far, Washington and Oregon biologists say there are enough to allow the 12-hour fishing period without exceeding Endangered Species Act guidelines.

Sturgeon setlines — Treaty Indian fishermen will have a sturgeon setline season from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Oct. 30 in The Dalles pool of the Columbia River.

Indian setline fishing will be allowed from  6 a.m. Nov. 2 to 6 p.m. Nov. 13 in Bonneville pool.

Stuart Ellis of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission said the tribes have 232 sturgeon remaining on their allocation for The Dalles pool and 722 sturgeon remaining for Bonneville pool.