Bill Monroe: Sport, commercial and tribal fishing seasons will look remarkably similar to last year

Constrained by restrictions on wild Chinook and Coho salmon runs from Canada’s Fraser River south to California’s Klamath River, the Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday nonetheless enacted sporting, commercial and tribal ocean fishing seasons remarkably similar to last year .

Some will even be an improvement.

The arduous negotiations in Seattle last week left state and federal biologists somewhat frustrated but satisfied that they have met the parameters to balance conservation and opportunity as best they can.

Discussions between state and federal managers included a growing concern about foraging by orcas, which depend on salmon for survival.

While deep-sea fishing off the Oregon coast is expected to be decent, the hardest news for anglers in Oregon and southwest Washington will be tightening restrictions on the lower Columbia River.

ocean sports

Cape Falcon (Manzanita) to Leadbetter Point (Long Beach, Washington): June 25 to September 30 for two adults per day. Quotas are 7,700 for Chinook (one hatchery or game allowed per day with a minimum length of 22 inches) and 84,000 for Coho (up to two per day, but only with fin trimming).

Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain (Port Orford): June 18th to August 21st for Hatchery Coho and September 3rd to 30th for all Coho. The odds are 100,000 for Hatchery Coho and 17,000 for the later Any Coho season.

Chinook fishing is now open and can continue through October with a daily catch limit of two (total salmon including coho) with no fin clip restrictions and a minimum length of 24 inches.

Additional Chinook season restrictions apply south of Humbug Mountain.

All seasons are subject to final approval by the Department of Commerce and will then be used as a template for seasons in state waters.

— Bill Monroe for The Oregonian/OregonLive