Buoy 10 area at Columbia's mouth closes to fishing Sunday

Buoy 10 area at Columbia's mouth closes to fishing Sunday

Friday, August 29, 2008 7:17 PM PDT

By The Daily News

The Buoy 10 area near the mouth of the Columbia River will be closed to all salmon and steelhead fishing, including catch-and-release, starting Sunday.

Oregon and Washington fishery managers took the action Thursday because recent surveys indicated that more than 5,400 coho have been caught this year. The figures include 2,560 coho harvested last week alone, with catch rates of about two fish for every three anglers, the highest since 2003.

The Buoy 10 area, which extends 16 miles upriver from the mouth of the Columbia River to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point Line, was closed for chinook on Aug. 25.

Before the season started, fishery managers anticipated that anglers would catch approximately 4,000 hatchery coho at Buoy 10. But if current catch rates continue, they now estimate anglers will harvest 8,700 to 10,800 hatchery coho by the time the fishery closes at the end of the today.

Steve Williams of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife acknowledged that it is possible the large catch rates may portend a larger run, but he said it is too early to tell so the responsible thing to do is stick to the preseason harvest plan.

The upriver salmon and steelhead fishery above Tongue Point to Bonneville Dam are unaffected by the Buoy 10 closure.