By Alex Baumhardt
Due to years of drought and poor ocean conditions, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will restrict fishing for wild Chinook salmon in parts of the state from late summer through the end of the year.
Numbers of wild Chinook in several coastal tributaries are forecast to be at historic lows this fall, and are likely to meet criteria to close off fishing that were set by the department in 2014.
To discuss the outlook and impacts to fishing, department officials will hold a webinar on Tuesday, June 7, at 6 p.m. It will be livestreamed on Oregon Fish and Wildlife’s YouTube channel and comments and questions can be submitted here in advance.
Since 2014, wild Chinook have contended with drought and warmer ocean and river temperatures that have led to lower reproduction and large scale die-offs. According to state fish experts, wild Chinook in several basins in 2019 dropped to their lowest numbers in more than 30 years.
For the full article, visit the Oregon Capital Chronicle website.
