For only the second time in almost a 100 years (last year was the first), we were able to provide harvest opportunities for both hatchery and wild adult fall Chinook Salmon in the Snake and Clearwater rivers. This new opportunity is proving popular with anglers as around 2,000 adult fall Chinook Salmon have been harvested this year which is the highest we have documented since we reopened this fishery in 2008. The highest we recorded previously was in 2013 (1,600 fish) when the run was about three times greater than it is this year.
The Clearwater Region accomplished a milestone this year by providing for first time in around a hundred years fishing opportunities throughout the Clearwater River for steelhead, fall Chinook Salmon, and Coho Salmon. These fisheries have provided over 70,000 hours of angler efforts which resulted in the catch of about 725 fall Chinook (490 harvested), 350 Coho (250 harvested), and over 3,000 steelhead (1,600 harvested) . These opportunities were made possible because of countless hours of effort and coordination between Idaho, Washington, Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, and NOAA Fisheries.
