Directed Off-Channel Commercial Salmon Fisheries in the Lower Columbia River: Evaluating the Potential for Expansion, Part 2 (New Sites)

Directed commercial fisheries in “Select Areas” have been implemented in the Columbia River Estuary (CRE) since the mid-1970s in Youngs Bay, Oregon. In 1996, the states of Oregon and Washington expanded the fisheries to sites throughout the CRE; the two states now plan to further expand these fisheries. We evaluated one large off-channel and two smaller terminal sites in the lower Columbia River during spring and fall of 2014 for the presence of adult salmon Oncorhynchus spp. We made 474 test sets in the spring and 322 in the fall and captured 203 and 232 Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha in the spring and fall, respectively. Preliminary spring results indicate that it may be possible to fit both terminal locations into allowable fishery impacts but that the large off-channel site may not be an appropriate location. Preliminary fall results indicate that one terminal location is unsuitable, but the large off-channel location may fit within fall allocation limits. In out-years we will examine adult salmon presence in an additional large off-channel location. This brings the number of sites being evaluated to four. We will also examine juvenile acclimation and rearing suitability, and adult homing potential at up to two finalist sites.