Record-low numbers of steelhead returning to Columbia River
Just 29,000 steelhead passed the Bonneville Dam since July 1 – the fewest ever recorded and less than half the average of the past five years.
Columbia River
Chinook returns in Columbia River could be near-record low
This year’s forecasted return of 81,700 upriver spring chinook is up 12% from last year’s return of 73,100, which was the lowest since 1999.
In Oregon, Corps wants to remove cormorant eggs to support salmon
ASTORIA, Ore. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to remove 500 eggs from double-crested cormorant nests as part of a long-term management plan to protect juvenile salmon being eaten by the cormorants in the Columbia River. The Corps is in the fourth year of a five-year plan to cut the cormorant population on
Group calls for fishing ban to protect Idaho steelheads
LEWISTON, Idaho — Fisheries managers should shut down steelhead fishing in the Columbia and Snake river basins to protect a wild run that returns to Idaho’s Clearwater River, according to a conservation group. The Conservation Angler told The Lewiston Tribune in a story on Saturday that even catch-and-release regulations threaten the survival of B-run steelhead.
At Columbia River in Oregon, young salmon safer – for now – after cormorants flee
The Army Corps of Engineers kills the birds to reduce predation on runs of threatened and endangered juvenile salmon.
Number of anglers, harvested white sturgeon overwhelming on Columbia River
But the number of anglers out on the Columbia River trying to land sturgeon – and the number of fish caught – was so high this past Saturday and Monday that fisheries managers are now considering closing the season early.
In Oregon, low steelhead returns could mean summer fishing restrictions
One plan fisheries managers are considering to combat the low returns is restricting where anglers can fish during each month.
Washington state to continue thinning cormorant population to help protect salmon
Corps officials say the birds eat up to 11 million juvenile salmon annually.
Environmental, fishing groups sue to save migrating salmon
Hope is to provide cooler habitat for migrating fish in the Columbia River system of Washington and Oregon.
