September 18, 2003
September 18, 2003
Salmon daily limit increased on Columbia River's Hanford Reach
Action: Increase the salmon daily limit to include up to four adults in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.
Effective Dates:
Area 1 (from the Hwy. 395 bridge at Pasco to Old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers) - September 19 through- December 31, 2003.
Area 2 (from the Old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers to Priest Rapids Dam) - September 19 through October 22, 2003.
Species affected: Chinook salmon
Location: Columbia River from the Hwy. 395 bridge at Pasco upstream to Priest Rapids Dam.
Reason for action: An extremely large run of fall chinook is returning to the Hanford Reach in 2003 and additional adult salmon are available for harvest. This year through September 16, the adult fall chinook count at Bonneville Dam was 485,000, the highest on record. The adult fall chinook count at McNary Dam is already 83,000 with six weeks of counting still to come. In 1987, the largest fall chinook run prior to this year, 57,000 adult chinook were counted at McNary through Sept. 16 and the total Bonneville Dam count was 337,000. The final count at McNary should easily exceed 200,000 adult chinook.
Other information: Daily limit will be six salmon, no more than four of which may be adults; minimum size 12 inches. Season closing dates remain unchanged. Retention of steelhead remains closed until further notice. See Page 65 in the WDFW "Fishing In Washington" rules pamphlet for details.
Information contact: Paul Hoffarth, District 4 fish biologist, (509) 545-2284 (Pasco) or John Easterbrooks, regional fishery manager, (509) 457-9330 (Yakima).
Salmon daily limit increased on Columbia River's Hanford Reach
Action: Increase the salmon daily limit to include up to four adults in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.
Effective Dates:
Area 1 (from the Hwy. 395 bridge at Pasco to Old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers) - September 19 through- December 31, 2003.
Area 2 (from the Old Hanford townsite wooden powerline towers to Priest Rapids Dam) - September 19 through October 22, 2003.
Species affected: Chinook salmon
Location: Columbia River from the Hwy. 395 bridge at Pasco upstream to Priest Rapids Dam.
Reason for action: An extremely large run of fall chinook is returning to the Hanford Reach in 2003 and additional adult salmon are available for harvest. This year through September 16, the adult fall chinook count at Bonneville Dam was 485,000, the highest on record. The adult fall chinook count at McNary Dam is already 83,000 with six weeks of counting still to come. In 1987, the largest fall chinook run prior to this year, 57,000 adult chinook were counted at McNary through Sept. 16 and the total Bonneville Dam count was 337,000. The final count at McNary should easily exceed 200,000 adult chinook.
Other information: Daily limit will be six salmon, no more than four of which may be adults; minimum size 12 inches. Season closing dates remain unchanged. Retention of steelhead remains closed until further notice. See Page 65 in the WDFW "Fishing In Washington" rules pamphlet for details.
Information contact: Paul Hoffarth, District 4 fish biologist, (509) 545-2284 (Pasco) or John Easterbrooks, regional fishery manager, (509) 457-9330 (Yakima).