Dismal coho runs may shorten fishing seasons

Critically low returns of wild and hatchery coho salmon to Puget Sound rivers, including popular South Sound fisheries, could result in shortened fishing seasons, closures or reduced bag limits.

That is the assessment after the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Tuesday released and discussed its initial run forecasts for Puget Sound rivers, the Columbia River and salmon abundance for the Pacific Ocean.

“There are some winners and losers out there. There are some fisheries we’ll want to take advantage of, and others that are of concern,” department Director Jim Unsworth said.

“Coho are down across the board,” said Ryan Lathrop, Puget Sound recreational salmon manager. “It’s just going to be a tough, tight year.”

Most Puget Sound rivers will be at or below escapement levels — the number of fish that avoid being caught during recreational and commercial fisheries. Minimum levels are set to ensure enough salmon are able to reach their spawning grounds.

Such low runs could result in rivers with time or area closures, as well as in reductions in how many fish anglers can keep. The impacts also might include the marine waters of the Sound as fish make their way from the ocean back to their natal waters.

The Nisqually River is showing some of the biggest declines. In 2015, the forecast was for a return of 7,840 hatchery fish. This year’s forecast calls for just 735 fish, a 93 percent decline. For wild coho, last year’s run was forecast at 15,368 fish. This year’s run is expected to be 90 percent lower at 1,486 coho.

The outlook is nearly as bad for the hatchery returns to the Green River and Squaxin net pens, and wild runs on the Puyallup and Deschutes rivers.

The run projections are calculated by agency and tribal fishery biologists, and will serve as the scientific basis for setting salmon fishing season lengths and catch quotas.

Tuesday’s meeting served as the kickoff to six weeks of meetings and negotiations, known as the North of Falcon process, which will conclude April 8-14 in Vancouver, Washington. At those meetings, the state and tribal co-managers will finalize fishing seasons for Puget Sound and the Columbia River, while the Pacific Fishery Management Council will establish seasons in ocean waters 3-200 miles off the Pacific coast.

Concerns over the small coho returns are shared by treaty tribes that work with the state as co-managers of the Puget Sound and Columbia River fisheries.

“Western Washington treaty Indian tribes are calling for greater caution in fisheries management planning this year and more equitable sharing with the state of the responsibility for conservation,” Lorraine Loomis, chairwoman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission said in a prepared statement. “It is important that we have agreement on in-season management methods and actions before the season starts.”

State and tribal biologists are blaming warm ocean water temperatures for the poor coho return.

With temperatures above normal because of El Nino and in the warm water blob in the northern Pacific, copepods (a form of plankton) have less fat, which means a less productive food chain for salmon. That has resulted in fewer salmon surviving, the average coho size being smaller and females having fewer eggs than normal, said Aaron DuFault, a salmon specialist with the department.

It all translates into likely season reductions or closures.

“It’s not good,” said Frank Urabeck, a recreational fishing supporter, “and it’s definitely not going to be good for Puget Sound.”

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Dismal coho runs may shorten fishing seasons."