Salmon Season Likely This Spring

Idaho Fish and Game biologists are expecting enough chinook salmon to return to Idaho this spring and summer to justify salmon seasons on some Idaho rivers. Predicting exactly how many chinook might make it to the Gem State is like trying to predict who will be the World Series MVP before spring training begins. You can make some educated guesses, but with all the variables involved, betting the mortgage on the final outcome would be a bad idea. However, biologists have come up with some very preliminary forecasts based on the number of jack salmon that returned last year. Jacks are salmon that return after one year in the ocean rather than two years, which is most common among Idaho's returning chinook. The number of jacks returning one year can offer some clues about how many "two ocean" salmon will return the following year, but they are only clues. "The preliminary forecast is 75,000 adipose- clipped chinook over Lower Granite Dam," anadromous fisheries coordinator Bill Horton said. The key word there is preliminary. However, based on that preliminary forecast, fisheries managers are working on plans for a chinook salmon season. According to Horton, Fish and Game is hoping for seasons on most of the rivers that were open for chinook salmon last year, including the Little Salmon River, the Salmon River near Riggins, the Clearwater River, and the South Fork of the Salmon River. Again, this is all preliminary. "We can't make too many decisions until fish start showing up in the river system," Horton said. "Once we have enough information we must still go to the Fish and Game Commission to propose seasons." As of February 15, no chinook salmon had been counted at Bonneville Dam, the first of eight dams salmon must pass on their migration from the Pacific Ocean to Idaho. After salmon start working their way upriver, the key to Idaho's seasons will be the counts over the final obstacle in the migration corridor, Lower Granite Dam. Once the counts at Lower Granite start picking up, Fish and Game has some solid information about the magnitude of the fisheries. But it certainly doesn't end there. The Department must pay very close attention to how many salmon anglers are catching in certain areas and how many salmon are showing up at various hatcheries and traps in the system. Managers must make sure that enough chinook return to the hatcheries to ensure future seasons. They must also make certain that anglers' impact on endangered wild runs of chinook does not exceed what federal law allows. The numbers often dictate that managers close fishing on a certain river to make sure enough fish make it to a hatchery. Early last July managers closed the South Fork of the Salmon River earlier than planned when anglers caught as many wild chinook as NOAA Fisheries would allow. In some cases the Department must even close fishing in one part of a river to ensure that enough fish will swim upstream to provide opportunities in other waters. Last year, when anglers on the Clearwater were approaching the allowed quota of surplus hatchery salmon, fisheries managers made the decision to close the main river early so anglers on the South Fork of the Clearwater and Lochsa rivers would have a chance to fish for chinook. "Anglers have to understand that decisions must be made during the fishery when actual numbers are known," biologist Scott Marshall said. Like a big league manager changing the lineup during the playoffs, fisheries managers must make adjustments according to how the game is unfolding. The good news is this; there is a high likelihood that Idaho anglers will have some opportunity to catch chinook salmon again this year. How the season will play out remains to be seen. Let's just hope the fish don't go on strike.