December 21, 2023 9:30 a.m.
Keeping adult and jack wild spring Chinook salmon on the north and mainstem Umpqua rivers will be prohibited from February 1st through June 30th of 2024.
A release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said anglers may still retain hatchery Chinook during that period.
An ODFW release said South Umpqua River adult wild spring Chinook were historically low in 2023 with just 18 wild adult spring Chinook, while runs in the North Umpqua River were also well below average. ODFW is forecasting returns to be low again in 2024. This combination of low returns in 2023 and a low forecast for 2024 is triggering the prohibition of wild spring Chinook harvest.
The release said concern for Umpqua spring Chinook, as well as other species that rely on in-stream cold water refuge through the summer is ongoing as temperatures in the basin continue to trend upward. Other issues such as access to habitat, degraded habitat, and predation from non-native predators such as smallmouth bass are also contributing to low returns.
District Fish Biologist Greg Huchko said, “The best way to address these issues and reverse the fortunes of salmon and steelhead in the Umpqua is through targeted habitat and flow restoration to cool our rivers”.
ODFW continues to work with partners – including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, watershed councils and NOAA Fisheries – to share information and address habitat and passage issues for spring Chinook in the upper South Umpqua River. Landowners interested in participating in restoration to benefit these runs can contact ODFW. In most cases, these projects can be fully funded with state or federal grants.
The release said the wild spring Chinook harvest restrictions follow the conservation sliding scale in ODFW’s Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan: https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/crp/docs/coastal_multispecies/CMP_main_final.pdf
ODFW said the sliding scale adjusts wild fish harvest opportunity based on the health of the North and South Umpqua populations.
The CMP was adopted in 2014 by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. It was developed with help from stakeholder teams within the Umpqua Basin along the Oregon coast.