Menu
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Feature
    • Arts
    • Astrology
    • Business
    • Community
    • Employment
    • Event Stories
    • From the Pioneer
    • Government
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Non Profit News
    • Obituary
    • Public Safety
    • Podcast Interview Articles
    • Pioneer Pulse Podcast: Politics, Palette, and Planet – the Playlist
  • Weather
  • Guest Column
    • Perspectives
    • Don Backman Photos
    • Ardent Gourmet
    • Kitchen Maven
    • I’ve been thinking
    • Jim Heffernan
    • The Littoral Life
    • Neal Lemery
    • View From Here
    • Virginia Carrell Prowell
    • Words of Wisdom
  • Things to do
    • Calendar
    • Tillamook County Parks
    • Tillamook County Hikes
    • Whale Watching
    • Tillamook County Library
    • SOS Community Calendar
  • About
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Opt-out preferences
  • Post Submission Test
  • Search...
Menu

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE: Columbia River closed to salmon and steelhead fishing as of June 1; reopens June 16

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Editor

Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington closed recreational Chinook and steelhead fishing on the Columbia River during a joint state hearing today effective June 1 through the remainder of the spring fishing season.  

The action was taken after the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) advised them to close the season immediately as any salmon and steelhead fishing that occurred beyond today (May 31) would be out of legal compliance with the Endangered Species Act.  

Effective Thursday, June 1 through Thursday, June 15, angling for and retention of all salmon and steelhead is prohibited in the mainstem Columbia River from Tongue Point/Rocky Point line upstream to Bonneville Dam. (The fishery from Bonneville Dam upstream to the OR/WA border was closed on May 25.) Shad fishing remains open. 

Yesterday afternoon, the expected return of upriver adult spring Chinook to the Columbia River mouth was downgraded from the 153,000 fish predicted on May 24 to 143,000 fish, based on passage at Bonneville Dam. Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington were also provided treaty catches through May 18 which were higher than expected.  

After reviewing these key pieces of information, it became clear that combined in-river fisheries were over the allowed impact rate on ESA-listed spring/summer Snake River Chinook and Upper Columbia spring Chinook. NMFS advised the states that action would need to be taken immediately to close the fishery. (Recreational fishing for Chinook and steelhead had been scheduled to continue in the area downstream of Bonneville Dam through June 4.) 

“It’s hard to have to close these fisheries when we have managed them conservatively while facing run-size uncertainty this year, but we need to be responsive,” said Tucker Jones, ODFW Columbia River Program Manager. “Fisheries are the only impact source that is scaled to actual abundance, unlike hydrosystem or predation impacts, and are the only impact that we can manage in real time.  

“Rather than pointing fingers at a particular fishery, it’s important to acknowledge the real problem, that there are way too few wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook coming back,” Jones continued. “NOAA’s recent “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead” report acknowledges this, and notes that without aggressive, urgent actions, including restoration of the lower Snake River for Snake River spring/summer Chinook, achieving healthy and abundant populations won’t be possible. While fisheries are playing their critical role in the conservation and recovery story, it’s important that the region continue to push other sectors to do the same.” 

A NMFS representative on the call during the joint state hearing today thanked fishery managers for their swift action, responsiveness, and for working within ESA limitations.  

The spring fishing season on the Columbia River ends June 15. Columbia River salmon fishing will reopen for the summer season on June 16 with Chinook and steelhead retention allowed both upstream and downstream of Bonneville Dam. See details of summer and fall seasons at the Columbia River Zone Fishing Report page under Regulation updates.

ODFW logo bw

Featured Video

Slide Contribute SUBSCRIBE

Tillamook Weather

Tides

Tillamook County Pioneer Podcast Series

Tillamook Church Search

Cloverdale Baptist Church
Nestucca Valley Presbyterian
Tillamook Ecumenical Service

Archives

  • Home
  • EULA Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Opt-out preferences
  • Search...
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Catherine

Recent Posts

  • TILLAMOOK COUNTY PIONEER WEEK IN REVIEW 5/29/25

    May 29, 2025
  • MANZANITA FARMERS MARKET READIES FOR WEEK #3 -- Breads, Berries, Veggies and More!

    May 29, 2025
  • Not just hot flashes: What every woman should know about the perimenopause transition

    May 29, 2025
©2025 | Theme by SuperbThemes

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}