The Columbia River Compact convened by teleconference at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2009 to consider remaining non-Indian commercial fishing opportunities during the late fall time period. As Fall Fact Sheet No.18 indicates, approximately 4,500 coho remain available for harvest in the non-Indian commercial fishery. The Joint Management Staff of the Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish & Wildlife recommended a 12-hour opener in Zones 2-5 on Wednesday, October 28, with a lower deadline defined by the Harrington Point – Settler Point line.  Keeping the fishery above Harrington Point was intended to protect endangered chum salmon stocks now returning to Grays River.

During the Compact teleconference, John North of ODFW suggested an alternative to using the Harrington Point – Settler Point line as the lower deadline for the proposed fishery. The lower deadline for Zone 2 is defined by a line from flashing red #44 just east of Tongue Pt. north to the beacon light at Grays Point. His suggestion was that simply adding the Grays Bay sanctuary to the list of sanctuaries  for the fishery would effectively accomplish the same thing as moving the lower boundary of Zone 2 up to the Harrington Pt. – Settler Pt. line. Also, in response to a request from fishermen in Zones 4 and 5, the staff recommendation was modified by adopting a nighttime opener for Zones 4-5, rather than the daytime opener in the staff recommendation.

Fall Fact Sheet No. 18 and subsequent Compact Action Notice are appended as PDF files:

Fall Fact Sheet No. 18

Compact Action Notice, 10-26-09

Written by SFA at 1:24 pm. Filed under Columbia River Compact | 0 Comments »