2012 Joint Staff Stock Status Reports
January 20th, 2012
The 2012 stock status reports for sturgeon and smelt, as well as spring Chinook, summer Chinook, sockeye, steelhead, and shad are now available. Both are large files: the sturgeon and smelt report is 534 KB in size; the winter/spring /summer fisheries stock status report is 1.96 MB in size.
As we enter 2012, the white sturgeon population abundance is down once again, largely due to growing problems with predation by stellar sea lions. As a result, the allowable exploitation rate has been reduced for the third year in a row; this year by 38%. Due to the 2010 listing of smelt as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, no sport or commercial fisheries for smelt will be permitted once again in 2012.
On the other hand, preseason forecasts for upriver spring Chinook and sockeye are significantly higher than last year. Forecasts for Willamette spring Chinook and upriver summer Chinook are at parity with last year’s actual return.
The first Columbia River Compact hearing of the year will be held on Thursday, January 26 at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The Joint Staff Stock Status Reports are appended below as PDF files.
ODFW – WDFW 2012 Sturgeon Smelt Joint Staff Report
2012 ODFW -WDFW Joint Staff Report for Winter, Spring and Summer Fisheries
