Nanook
05-03-2000, 01:26 PM
RT - Yell at me if you don't want these big
text hogs posted.
Chinook run beats predictions
State biologists revise their forecast from 134,000 to 165,000 for the season, but officials warn that one good year is not enough
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
By Jonathan Brinckman of The Oregonian staff
Huge numbers of spring chinook are coursing up the Columbia River, leading biologists to predict the best run in nearly three decades.
By Monday, 128,157 spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam's fish ladders, more than triple the 10-year average of 41,900 for the date.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department biologists had forecast a run of 134,000 fish for the season. They've upped that prediction to 165,000 spring chinook and say they wouldn't be surprised to see as many as 190,000 fish. Spring chinook generally run in the Columbia from March through mid-May.
"We're seeing a heck of a lot of fish, even beyond our expectations," said Ray Beamesderfer, a fish biologist with the department.
Most of the fish are hatchery-bred. Wild spring chinook, which make up a small fraction of the run, are not doing nearly as well. Biologists expect 5,800 Snake River wild spring chinook to enter the Columbia River. Although that's more than twice the 2,758 counted in 1999, it's well below the 10-year average of 9,039.
Biologists caution against reading too much into this year's high return of hatchery spring chinook. Runs of salmon, which return to spawn in fresh water after spending three to five years in the ocean, vary widely from year to year.
A one-year spike in the return rates would not be a sign that Northwest salmon are out of trouble, biologists said. Significant salmon recovery will require a long-term increase in average run sizes.
Still, this year's bounce in hatchery chinook is good news to the region's sport anglers. A special spring chinook season that targets only hatchery fish, which have their adipose fin removed, opened Monday in the Willamette River. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission also authorized a Clearwater River spring chinook season for anglers beginning Friday, only the fourth season in the past decade.
"There's not much cause to jump up and down because we're supposed to have wild fish as well," said Dave Cannamela, a fish biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "But we've got hatchery fish that anglers will be able to catch, and that's the way it is supposed to be."
Historically, as many as 16 million wild salmon and steelhead returned each year to the Columbia River Basin to spawn. By the 1960s, that number had fallen to about 5 million fish. Today, about 1 million adult fish are making it back to the spawning grounds, and most are hatchery born.
Biologists can't explain this year's enormous run of hatchery spring chinook. It's certainly a sign that ocean conditions are improving, with colder, nutrient-rich upwelling providing the food that salmon need. Scientists say that is at least partly a result of the La Niņa weather phenomenon, which brings cooler water to the eastern Pacific.
But not all salmon species are rebounding. For example, although Oregon coastal coho salmon runs are improving, 670,000 fish are expected this year, compared with a high of 2.6 million in 1986.
"We've seen some signs of the ocean improving, but it's spotty and inconsistent," said Pete Lawson, a fish biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Newport.
Next year could be even better for Columbia River spring chinook. As of Monday, 6,631 jacks -- immature males that return to their spawning grounds a year early -- had been counted at Bonneville Dam. Biologists now forecast a final jack count of 16,000 to 25,000. Last year, 8,700 jacks were counted.
Because the jack count is a reliable indication of the size of the next year's run, the spring chinook run next year probably will be far larger.
But forecasts call for dismal spring chinook returns in 2002. That's because those fish are the progeny of the fish that returned to spawn in 1998. Only 38,280 fish returned that year. "We call them the death broods," Beamesderfer said.
Anglers, though, are enjoying the fish that are running now.
Terry Mulkey, an Oregon City fishing guide, took four clients out Monday and Tuesday for the new Willamette River season that targets only hatchery fish. His boat, with four fishing rods, netted 10 fish Monday. Eight were released. Two had missing adipose fins, marking them as hatchery fish.
"It's been a fantastic year so far," Mulkey said. "Everybody was just really happy."
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text hogs posted.
Chinook run beats predictions
State biologists revise their forecast from 134,000 to 165,000 for the season, but officials warn that one good year is not enough
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
By Jonathan Brinckman of The Oregonian staff
Huge numbers of spring chinook are coursing up the Columbia River, leading biologists to predict the best run in nearly three decades.
By Monday, 128,157 spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam's fish ladders, more than triple the 10-year average of 41,900 for the date.
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department biologists had forecast a run of 134,000 fish for the season. They've upped that prediction to 165,000 spring chinook and say they wouldn't be surprised to see as many as 190,000 fish. Spring chinook generally run in the Columbia from March through mid-May.
"We're seeing a heck of a lot of fish, even beyond our expectations," said Ray Beamesderfer, a fish biologist with the department.
Most of the fish are hatchery-bred. Wild spring chinook, which make up a small fraction of the run, are not doing nearly as well. Biologists expect 5,800 Snake River wild spring chinook to enter the Columbia River. Although that's more than twice the 2,758 counted in 1999, it's well below the 10-year average of 9,039.
Biologists caution against reading too much into this year's high return of hatchery spring chinook. Runs of salmon, which return to spawn in fresh water after spending three to five years in the ocean, vary widely from year to year.
A one-year spike in the return rates would not be a sign that Northwest salmon are out of trouble, biologists said. Significant salmon recovery will require a long-term increase in average run sizes.
Still, this year's bounce in hatchery chinook is good news to the region's sport anglers. A special spring chinook season that targets only hatchery fish, which have their adipose fin removed, opened Monday in the Willamette River. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission also authorized a Clearwater River spring chinook season for anglers beginning Friday, only the fourth season in the past decade.
"There's not much cause to jump up and down because we're supposed to have wild fish as well," said Dave Cannamela, a fish biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "But we've got hatchery fish that anglers will be able to catch, and that's the way it is supposed to be."
Historically, as many as 16 million wild salmon and steelhead returned each year to the Columbia River Basin to spawn. By the 1960s, that number had fallen to about 5 million fish. Today, about 1 million adult fish are making it back to the spawning grounds, and most are hatchery born.
Biologists can't explain this year's enormous run of hatchery spring chinook. It's certainly a sign that ocean conditions are improving, with colder, nutrient-rich upwelling providing the food that salmon need. Scientists say that is at least partly a result of the La Niņa weather phenomenon, which brings cooler water to the eastern Pacific.
But not all salmon species are rebounding. For example, although Oregon coastal coho salmon runs are improving, 670,000 fish are expected this year, compared with a high of 2.6 million in 1986.
"We've seen some signs of the ocean improving, but it's spotty and inconsistent," said Pete Lawson, a fish biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Newport.
Next year could be even better for Columbia River spring chinook. As of Monday, 6,631 jacks -- immature males that return to their spawning grounds a year early -- had been counted at Bonneville Dam. Biologists now forecast a final jack count of 16,000 to 25,000. Last year, 8,700 jacks were counted.
Because the jack count is a reliable indication of the size of the next year's run, the spring chinook run next year probably will be far larger.
But forecasts call for dismal spring chinook returns in 2002. That's because those fish are the progeny of the fish that returned to spawn in 1998. Only 38,280 fish returned that year. "We call them the death broods," Beamesderfer said.
Anglers, though, are enjoying the fish that are running now.
Terry Mulkey, an Oregon City fishing guide, took four clients out Monday and Tuesday for the new Willamette River season that targets only hatchery fish. His boat, with four fishing rods, netted 10 fish Monday. Eight were released. Two had missing adipose fins, marking them as hatchery fish.
"It's been a fantastic year so far," Mulkey said. "Everybody was just really happy."
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