1st 2012 Columbia River Compact Set
January 4th, 2012
The first hearing of the Columbia River Compact for 2012 is scheduled for Thursday, January 26. It will be a face-to-face meeting at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel on NE Airport Way. The Joint Management Staff will consider mainstem sturgeon fisheries, recreational spring salmon fisheries, Select Area fisheries from winter through summer, and the 2012 non-Indian commercial winter/spring commercial salmon fishing plan.
The 2012 preseason forecast for spring Chinook is promising, though preseason forecasts are seldom completely accurate. On average, though, preaseason forecasts turn out to be too low as often as they are too high. The forecast for Willamette spring Chinook is 83,400, which is about the same as 2011′s actual return. The preseason forecast for upriver spring Chinook is 314,200, which approximately 50% higher than last year’s return. The biggest gain expected for 2012, however, is the preseason forecast for sockeye (blueback) salmon, which is for 462,000 fish to return to the Columbia River, including 1,900 sockeye bound for the Snake River.
The 2012 stock status report for all fisheries from winter through summer should be out in advance of the Columbia River Compact/Joint State hearing. The meeting notice is appended below as a PDF file.
