Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
More salmon passing upstream of Bonneville Dam
WALLULA – With the best spring Chinook run since 2015, the state has extended the fishing season.
The extension begins May 24, officials said, noting the run forecast for spring Chinook upstream of the dam will be about 180,000 fish.
Before the season started, officials projected a return of only about 123,000.
Already this season, this is the 11th best spring run over Bonneville Dam since 1980.
“We continue to see strong counts daily, which supports the increased run size estimate leading to more fishing opportunity,” state Columbia River fishery manager Ryan Lothrop said.
Below Bonneville Dam, the fishery will close Sunday, May 22. But the extension means it will reopen from Tuesday, May 24 to Wednesday, June 15, officials said.
Upstream from the dam, the fishery will open from May 26-28 from the Tower Island power lines near The Dalles to the Oregon-Washington border at Wallula.
“By taking these measured steps to re-open, it has allowed us to provide additional opportunities while ensuring we remain within harvest constraints,” Lothrop said.
Roger Harnack is the co-owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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