Spring chinook futures are looking up for the first time in about three years.
A collection of state, tribal and federal fisheries managers is forecasting 122,900 spring chinook bound for tributaries above Bonneville Dam will make it at least as far as the mouth of the Columbia River this year. That number includes about 73,400 chinook that will be bound for the Snake River and its tributaries, an increase of about 20,000 compared to last year. The forecast for Snake River-bound springers includes 60,200 hatchery-origin fish and about 13,200 wild fish. If the forecast proves accurate, it would be the first time the total return of upriver spring chinook has exceeded 100,000 fish since 2018, when the return to the mouth of the Columbia was estimated at 115,081. It also would be the highest return of Snake River-bound fish since the estimated return of 111,072 in 2016.
Officials from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will host a series of public meetings starting next week to share their forecasts for returns to the Snake River above Lower Granite Dam and proposals for fishing seasons on the Clearwater, lower Salmon and Snake rivers. Joe DuPont, regional fisheries manager for the department at Lewiston, said the Clearwater River is likely to have a harvest share of about 2,000 hatchery spring chinook. Last year the agency didn’t propose a fishing season on the Clearwater River or its tributaries, and the 2020 season was shuttered because of poor fish numbers.
Meetings will be held at the Riggins Community Center in Riggins on Tuesday; Idaho Fish and Game Office in Lewiston on Wednesday; and Clearwater Hatchery near Orofino on Thursday. All meetings will start at 5:30 pm. (Lewiston Tribune)
