Portions of the Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam soon will be closed to all salmon fishing, fisheries managers from Oregon and Washington announced on Thursday.
The closure is due to higher-than-anticipated catch rates of lower river tule Chinook, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Starting Saturday, all salmon and steelhead angling will be closed from Tongue Point near Astoria, Ore., to Warrior Rock near St. Helens, Ore.
Starting Tuesday, the closure will extend from Warrior Rock up to Bonneville Dam.
“It’s extremely disappointing that we have to close these areas down. Fishing has been quite good, but unfortunately along with that came using up the available tule Chinook allocation for these areas,” Tucker Jones, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Columbia River Manager, said in a news release. “Conservation is our first responsibility, and we have to do what we can to ensure we do not adversely impact this listed stock.
“Coho and upriver fall Chinook are doing well and are a bright spot for Columbia River runs this year. We will continue to monitor and update fish runs, and, if possible, will strive to reopen these areas for salmon fishing as soon as we can,” Jones added.
Chinook retention was closed last week at Buoy 10, at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Coho fishing remains open from Buoy 10 to Tongue Point.
White Sturgeon retention will also open upstream of the Wauna Powerlines on two Saturdays, Sept. 11 and 18.
