Salmon Counts Picking Up

Fishery Managers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are cautiously optimistic about an increase in the number of Chinook salmon moving up the Columbia River. On Sunday April 24, more than 3,500 Chinook passed Bonneville, bringing the total count to nearly 12,000. "That's the kind of daily count we would expect to see this time of year," said Anadramous Fisheries Manager Sharon Kiefer "We hope to see more days like that this week." Last week, managers in Washington and Oregon responded to unusually low early season returns by closing fisheries on the Mainstem Columbia River. They will meet again on Wednesday April 27 to discuss whether to downsize run estimates for Chinook runs in the Columbia. Idaho Fisheries managers are receiving information from PIT tags in some Snake River Chinook at Bonneville, but so far only eleven salmon have passed Lower Granite Dam, the final dam they must pass on the way to Idaho. Fish and Game will continue to analyze data and will keep the public informed about Idaho's Chinook salmon season through media outlets and on the internet.