Despite Habitat Improvements Over 20 Years, Spring Chinook In Washington’s Tucannon River Still At Risk Of Extinction, Steelhead Doing Better
December 15th, 2024
Twenty years of habitat improvements on southeast Washington’s Tucannon River are resulting in a mix of outcomes for adult anadromous fish returning to the river, especially over the past few years. Steelhead returns have grown significantly, while spring Chinook salmon returns are far below project objectives and the fish continue to be at serious risk of extinction.
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6-Year Study Details Salmon Injuries From Hooks, Landing Nets, Handling As Key Factors In Post-Release Mortality, Reduced Survival Up To 20 Percent
December 9th, 2024
Using smaller hooks, avoiding landing nets, and de-hooking and measuring fish in water are three of 15 solutions University of British Columbia researchers recommend to help released salmon thrive.
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Court-Ordered Drawdown In Willamette Valley To Aid Salmon Halted Early Due To Downstream Water Quality Issues
December 9th, 2024
In just its second year of court-ordered drawdowns at two Willamette River dams to aid passage of threatened spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced just prior to Thanksgiving that it halted the drawdown at one of the dams due to water quality issues at three municipalities downstream.
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EPA Gives Notice Of Developing New Rule To Protect Salmon, Steelhead From Lethal Tire Chemical; ‘Unreasonable Threat To Water, Fish Resources’
November 25th, 2024
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is acting on its commitment to three Northwest tribes by issuing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to collect information on the risks of 6PPD quinone in tires, known to be toxic in stormwater runoff to coho salmon and steelhead in Puget Sound.
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Alaska 2024 Salmon Harvest Summary Shows Third Lowest On Record For Total Fish Harvested, Sockeye 42 Percent of Harvest
November 25th, 2024
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has published preliminary harvest and value figures for the 2024 Alaska Commercial Salmon Fishery that show a dramatic decline compared to last year.
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Montana Approves New Fishing Regulations To Reduce Pressure On ESA-Listed Bull Trout, Record Low Numbers South Fork Flathead River
November 25th, 2024
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved additional protections –less fishing pressure-- for bull trout in Hungry Horse Reservoir and the South Fork of the Flathead River in northwest Montana.
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Deschutes River Reintroduction Program This Year Sees Highest Return Yet Of Adult Summer Steelhead; Returns Across The Basin Up Over Recent Years
November 18th, 2024
Some 262 adult summer steelhead have returned to the Pelton Round Butte hydroelectric project’s trap on Oregon’s Deschutes River as of November 7 and all have been or will be released into Lake Billy Chinook.
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States Set 2025 Columbia River Sturgeon Retention Seasons; Expect High Effort, Short Seasons
November 18th, 2024
Oregon and Washington fishery managers set dates and harvest guidelines for recreational white sturgeon retention in pools backed up behind Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day dams.
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Walleye Abundance Increasing At Alarming Rate In Snake, Salmon Rivers, Idaho Seeks Angler Help To Slow The Spread
November 1st, 2024
Walleye are spreading at an alarming rate upstream in the Snake and Salmon rivers and now occupy critical rearing and migratory areas of juvenile salmon and steelhead, says Idaho Fish and Game.
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WDFW Opens Hatchery Steelhead Fishing In Areas Of Upper Columbia For First Time In 9 Years, 2024 Returns Exceed Wild Fish Escapement Goals
October 18th, 2024
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that steelhead fishing will open in select areas of the Upper Columbia this month. This marks the first time in nine years that anglers can enjoy fishing for hatchery steelhead in these waters.
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Independent Scientists Review NPCC’s Basin Fish/Wildlife Program, Recommend More Comprehensive Climate Change Strategy
October 8th, 2024
In a recent review, a panel of scientists said the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program for the Columbia River basin is still changing and progressing after 40 years of implementation, but will need further updates and improvements, including a better strategy for incorporating climate change into the Program and a more comprehensive analysis of the outcome of removing the four lower Snake River dams.
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Twenty Years Of Salmon Habitat Improvements In Columbia River Estuary Detailed, No Net Loss Since 2009
October 8th, 2024
Twenty years of habitat improvements in the Columbia River estuary have yielded 80 projects and 11,100 acres of reconnected tidally influenced flood plain habitat, according to two presentations by estuary scientists at a recent Northwest Power and Conservation Council meeting.
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Lamprey Returns To Columbia River ‘Disappointing’ This Year; Efforts Continue To Boost Numbers, Including Translocation To Tributaries, Better Dam Passage
September 26th, 2024
Some 22,038 Columbia River basin Pacific lamprey had been counted at Bonneville Dam’s fish ladders as of Sept. 22, one-half the 10-year average and only one-third the number that had passed the dam on this date last year.
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Oregon Launches Pilot Projects To Estimate Anglers’ Salmon, Steelhead Catch; There’s An App For That
September 18th, 2024
Creel surveys (where state fish biologists ask for and record information about anglers’ catches) provide critical information for managing many fisheries but can be expensive and labor-intensive.