The spring chinook salmon fishing on the Columbia River ended Wednesday evening and was followed immediately by a summer chinook and summer steelhead season for Treaty Indian gillnetters, Treaty platform and hook and line fishers, commercial gillnetters and recreational anglers: in short, everyone is fishing.

The summer season decision was made by the two-state Columbia River Compact last week and goes into effect June 16. The season will continue through July 31. See the June 9 Compact Action Notice at https://web.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=432947&part=2.

Fisheries managers consider the change from spring to summer chinook to begin on June 16. River managers such the Technical Management Team, along with the Fish Passage Center, consider June 1 the change date.

As the spring chinook season ended, the U.S. v Oregon Technical Advisory Committee reset Monday, May 31, the in-season spring run size projection for the chinook to 184,000 fish.

That’s up from the previous projection of 180,000, but still lower than the pre-season forecast of 188,800 fish. As of June 5, 146,742 adult and 12,056 jacks, 3,221 steelhead and 3,408 sockeye salmon had passed Bonneville Dam.

At 98 percent of their allocation last week, anglers and commercial gillnetters fishing below Bonneville Dam approached their limits on spring chinook. However, with a balance of about 300 fish remaining in the allocation (including projected catch) and just a few days left in the springer season, the Compact extended the boundary for boat fishing from Beacon Rock upstream to the dam June 10 – 15. Previously that section had been closed.

There was some talk during the Compact meeting of also extending spring chinook fishing to areas downstream of Tongue Point near Astoria, a proposal supported by Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. However, with little fishery data available as to how many fish would be taken, Tucker Jones of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Guy Norman of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife decided that the risk was too high.

Treaty Indian fishing also approached last week its spring chinook allocation, so the Compact, at the suggestion of tribal governments, ended the sales of platform and hook and line fishing the evening of June 6 in order to reduce the pressure on the fish. Treaty fishers are allowed 9.1 percent of the spring run, or 16,744 fish. The last tribal gillnet fishery was May 25 – 27, and platform and hook and line fishing has been ongoing since May 16.

Recreational fishing for springers continued in the Columbia River downstream of Bonneville Dam through June 15.

Spring chinook fishing in the Columbia River upstream of Bonneville Dam to the Oregon/Washington border ended when the fishery reached its harvest allocation. Some 1,480 upriver chinook were caught from more than 6,700 angler trips. That’s 105 percent of the allocation. The area opened June 16 for summer chinook angling.

The recreational chinook fishing in Washington waters on the Snake River is closed. However, the Little Goose area re-opened for two days June 12-13. Anglers caught 1,452 fish in this fishery, including projected harvest during the opening early this week, which is 100 percent of their allocation.

Commercial gillnetters caught 3,092 spring chinook during the spring fishery or 94 percent of the allocation allowed to mainstem and select area gillnetters.

Recreational anglers below Bonneville Dam caught 10,428 upriver spring chinook, which is 98.4 percent of their allocation. That includes caught fish and the projected catch up to June 15.

In total anglers and non-Indian gillnetters caught 16,442 spring chinook. That’s 98 percent of the spring allocation for non-Indian fishing.

Upper Columbia River summer chinook are destined for areas in the upper river above Priest Rapids Dam, according to Compact Summer Fact Sheet #1 (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/OSCRP/CRM/FS/16/16_06_9sf1.pdf). They are not a listed run of fish under the federal Endangered Species Act and, in fact, are considered a healthy run of fish.

TAC has forecasted a run of 93,300 adult summer chinook to the Columbia River mouth, which is less than the 2015 return of 126,900 fish, but still 132 percent of the 10-year average of 79,800 adults.

See CBB, December 18, 2015, “Early 2016 Salmon Run Projections: Spring, Summer Chinook Higher Than 10-Year Average, Sockeye Lower,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/435733.aspx

Fishing is managed so that an escapement goal is reached of at least 29,000 hatchery and natural origin upper Columbia River summer chinook.

Some 58,350 summer chinook will be available for harvest based on the preseason forecast and the harvest rate schedule in the management agreement. The fish are to be shared equally between treaty and non-Indian fisheries with 29,175 going to each.

Some 256,200 upriver summer steelhead are expected to pass Bonneville Dam this year during July through October. That is 78 percent of the 10-year average of 329,800 fish. Lower river summer steelhead returns have averaged 62,500 fish over the past ten years.

Summer steelhead passage at Bonneville Dam April 1- June 7 was 3,557, close to expectations of 3,100 fish based on the TAC forecast and 10-year average run timing. The 50 percent passage date is around June 17 for this upriver Skamania stock.

Summer steelhead that pass the dam prior to July 1 are considered Skamania stock and steelhead that pass the dam July 1 – October 31 are classified as either Group A or Group B fish, depending on their length. Summer steelhead in Columbia River fisheries below the dam are considered lower river stock May – June and upriver stock July – October.

The 2016 forecast for sockeye salmon entering at the mouth of the Columbia River is 101,600 fish, far fewer fish than the 512,500 sockeye that returned in 2015 and below the 10-year average of 290,200. The forecast includes 57,800 Wenatchee stock, 41,700 Okanogan stock, and 2,100 Snake River stock.

Passage of sockeye at Bonneville Dam through June 14 is 33,496 fish, much greater than the 500 fish that are expected on this date based on the forecast and 5-year average run timing. The average 50 percent passage date is June 27.

Of the 93,300 summer chinook projected to enter the river, non-Indian ocean commercial fishers are allocated 6,500 fish, bringing the actual total harvest, including ocean, to 99,800 fish. Some 29,175 are available for treaty Indian harvest, 22,675 for in-river recreational harvest and 2,633 for non-Indian commercial harvest.

The Compact Thursday, June 9, took these actions regarding summer chinook salmon fishing:

Treaty Indian commercial gillnetting will have three openers:

–6 am Thursday, June 16 to 6 pm Saturday, June 18, 2.5 days

–6 am Monday, June 20 to 6 pm Thursday, June 23, 3.5 days

–6 am Monday, June 27 to 6 pm Thursday, June 30, 3.5 days

The predicted chinook catch is 19,500 (total allowed 29,175), for sockeye the catch is predicted at 4,900 (total allowed 7,112) and 700 for summer steelhead.

Treaty Indian commercial platform and hook and line fishing upstream of Bonneville Dam is June 16 – July 31, as is commercial platform and hook and line fishing downstream of Bonneville Dam.

Yakama Nation commercial fishing is open June 16 – July 31.

The Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission this week at the interagency Technical Management Team meeting asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to operate the Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day pools within a 1.5 foot band during these fishing periods in order to protect nets. See System Operational Request 2016 C-1at http://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/tmt/agendas/2016/0615_SOR_2016-C1.pdf.

Non-Treaty commercial gillnetting opened for eight hours, 9 pm Thursday, June 16 to 5 am today, June 17. Effort was expected to be moderate at about 70 deliveries, according to the Compact fact sheet, with a catch expectation of 2,200 Chinook. Sockeye catch was expected to be minimal and well within the 305 fish allocated to commercial fisheries.

Blind and Knappa Slough Select Area commercial fisheries have been given three 12-hour openings, all 7 pm to 7 am:

–Thursday, June 16 – Friday June 17

–Monday, June 20 – Tuesday, June 21

–Thursday, June 23 – Friday, June 24

Tongue Point/South Channel commercial fishing will have two 12-hour openings, all 7pm to 7 am:

–Thursday, June 16 – Friday, June 17

–Monday, June 20 – Tuesday, June 21

Also see:

— CBB, January 29, 2016, “States Set Columbia River Spring Recreational/Commercial Salmon, Steelhead Fishing Openings,”https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/435945.aspx