Published 05/05/09
Possible Banner Year for Oregon Coast Ocean
Coho Fishing
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Fishing is a big deal in Garibaldi. |
(Oregon Coast) - Sport anglers can look forward to a banner
year of ocean coho salmon fishing under final season recommendations made
last month by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting in
San Francisco.
The PFMC recommendations include a 10-week season South
of Cape Falcon, which includes most of the Oregon coast, with a catch
quota of 110,000 adipose fin-clipped hatchery selective coho and a daily
bag limit of three fish. This will be the largest quota for the South
of Cape Falcon sport fishery since selective coho seasons were first adopted
in 1998.
North of Cape Falcon the season will be 13 weeks with a
catch quota of 88,200 adipose fin-clipped coho and a daily bag limit of
two.
“Anglers should start sharpening their hooks because
this is the largest coho quota since 1992,” said Ron Boyce, Technical
Resources Program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Depoe Bay is also a hotspot for fishing tours. |
A total of 1.3 million adult coho are expected to return
to the Oregon Coast and Columbia River, up from the 2008 forecast of 276,000.
“The coho fishery has always been popular with sport
anglers because they are an exciting and unpredictable fish when they
are hooked. On top of that, coho feed near the surface and are aggressive
biters, and that makes them easier to find and catch for anglers. This
year is shaping up to be a great year to go coho fishing,” Boyce
said.
The large recreational fishery for ocean coho will be a
bright spot for coastal communities facing a second straight year of no
commercial fishery for ocean chinook salmon South of Cape Falcon. The
Oregon commercial salmon fishery usually targets chinook salmon returning
to the Sacramento River in California. The chinook forecast for the Sacramento
is only slightly higher than last year, when poor returns lead to the
largest fishery closure on record.
Details of the proposed 2009 Oregon ocean sport salmon
seasons include:
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Along Tillamook's Bay. |
Leadbetter Point, WA to Cape Falcon, OR
Season: June 28 through Sept. 30, or until catch quotas are reached
Catch quotas: 88,200 adipose fin-clipped coho, 5,400 chinook
Daily bag limit: two salmon but no more than one chinook
Length limits: chinook – 24”, coho – 16”
Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain
Season #1: June 20 through Aug. 31 or until coho quota is reached
Catch quota: 110,000 adipose fin-clipped coho from Cape Falcon to CA/OR
border
Daily bag limit: three salmon, except closed to retention of chinook
Length limits: coho – 16”
Season #2: Sept. 1 through Sept. 30 or
until coho quota is reached
Catch quota: 7,000 adipose fin-clipped coho
Daily bag limits: two salmon, except closed to retention of chinook
Length limits: coho – 16”
Humbug Mountain to OR/CA Border
Season #1: June 20 through Aug. 31 or until catch quota
is reached
Catch quota: 110,000 adipose fin-clipped coho from Cape Falcon to CA/OR
border
Daily bag limit: two salmon; closed to retention of chinook
Length limits: coho – 16”
Season #2: Aug. 29 through Sept. 7
Daily bag limit: two salmon, closed to retention of coho (coho may be
kept from Aug. 29-31 if season #1 remains open)
Length limits: chinook – 24”
The PFMC’s recommendations must be approved by NOAA
– Fisheries and the Department of Commerce and will be considered
for adoption by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at its May meeting
in Salem.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council proposes fishing
seasons in ocean waters three to 200 miles off the Oregon, Washington
and California coasts to the Department of Commerce, and is comprised
of fishery managers and public representatives from Washington, Oregon,
California, and Idaho, native American tribes, and the federal government.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider fall chinook seasons
for state waters (primarily rivers and estuaries) at its June meeting.
For more about Oregon Coast....
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