Background: Salmon
The Fish
The Fishery and Gear
The Management Context
How Do I Get Involved?
Hot Topics
Current Salmon Seasons
The Fish
Chinook and coho salmon are the main salmon species managed by the Council.
In odd-numbered years, the Council may manage special fisheries near the
Canadian border for pink salmon. Sockeye, chum and steelhead are
rarely caught in the Council’s ocean fisheries.
Salmon are affected by a wide variety of factors in the ocean and on
land, including ocean and climatic conditions, dams, habitat loss, urbanization,
agricultural and logging practices, water diversion, and predators (including
humans). Salmon are an important source of spiritual and physical
sustenance for Northwest Indian tribes, and they are symbolically important
to many other residents of the Northwest.
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are also called king, spring,
or tyee salmon, and are the largest of the Pacific salmon. Chinook
salmon are highly prized by commercial, sport, and subsistence fishers.
Like all Pacific salmon, chinook are anadromous, which means they hatch
in freshwater streams and rivers, migrate to the ocean for feeding and
growth, and return to their natal waters to spawn. Within this life
history, chinook can be very diverse. Their spawning environments
range from just above tidewater to over 3,200 kilometers from the ocean.
The natural range of chinook in North America ranges from the Ventura River
in California to Kotzebue Sound in Alaska. They also appear in Asia,
from northern Japan to the Andyr River in Russia (about 64 degrees north
latitude). In the ocean, chinook from Washington, Oregon and California
range widely throughout the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, and as far
south as the U.S. border with Mexico. Wild chinook populations have
disappeared from large areas where they used to flourish, and several evolutionarily
significant units (ESUs) have been listed or proposed for listing as at
risk for extinction under the Endangered Species Act.
Coho or “silver” salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are found in streams
and rivers throughout much of the Pacific Rim, from central California
to Korea and northern Japan. Coho are also anadromous and have a
life history similar to chinook. However, the time they spend in
fresh and salt water is relatively fixed, compared to the more variable
life history of chinook. North of central British Columbia, coho
tend to spend two years in the ocean, while south of this point they spend
only one year in the ocean. Unlike Chinook, where most production
comes from mainstem spawning areas, coho tend to use smaller streams and
tributaries. North American coho spawn in tributaries from the San
Lorenzo River in Monterey Bay, California to Point Hope, Alaska, and throughout
the Aleutian Islands. They are most abundant in coastal areas from
central Oregon to southeast Alaska.
Because salmon migrate so far when in the ocean, managing the ocean
salmon fisheries is an extremely complex task.
The Fishery and Gear
Several different regions and groups are involved in the salmon fishery:
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Recreational
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Ocean
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Inland marine (Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, coastal bays)
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Freshwater (including Columbia River Buoy 10)
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Commercial
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Treaty Indian and non-Indian ocean troll
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Puget Sound seine and gillnet
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Washington coastal bays gillnet
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Lower Columbia non-Indian gillnet
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Mid-Columbia treaty Indian gillnet
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Tribal Ceremonial and Subsistence (gillnet, dip net and hook and line)
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Puget Sound
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Washington coastal bays
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Columbia River and other Washington rivers
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Klamath River
The Management Context
Pacific coast salmon fisheries in Council-managed waters focus on chinook
or king salmon and coho or silver salmon. Small numbers of pink salmon
are also harvested, especially in odd-numbered years. There are no
directed fisheries for other salmon species such as sockeye, steelhead
and chum in Council-managed waters.
The Council’s Salmon Fishery Management Plan describes the goals and
methods for salmon management. Management tools such as season length,
quotas, and bag limits vary depending on how many salmon are present.
There are two central parts of the Plan: an annual goal for the number
of spawners of the major salmon stocks (“spawner escapement goals”), and
allocation of the harvest among different groups of fishers (commercial,
recreational, tribal, various ports, ocean, and inland). The Council
must also comply with laws such as the Endangered Species Act.
Every year the Council follows a preseason process to develop recommendations
for management of the ocean fisheries. A schedule of this process
is available from the Council after the November meeting. Public
involvement begins in late February, when reports describing the previous
season and estimating salmon abundance for the coming season are released.
These reports are followed by a council meeting early in March to propose
season options. Public hearings on these options are held in late
March or early April, and the final recommendations are adopted at a Council
meeting in April. Recommendations are implemented by the National
Marine Fisheries Service on May 1.
The Salmon Technical Team (STT) helps the Council by summarizing data from
the previous season, estimating the number of salmon in the coming season,
and analyzing the effects of the Council’s recommendations and amendments.
The STT is made up of eight people drawn from state, federal and tribal
fisheries management agencies, all of whom have technical expertise in
salmon management. STT meetings are open to the public.
The Salmon Advisory Subpanel (SAS) is made up of 17 members who represent
commercial, recreational, and tribal interests, as well as a public representative
and a conservation representative. These advisors play a large role
in developing the Council’s annual salmon management options in March and
April. Each member serves a three-year term.
How Do I Get Involved?
Hot Topics
Correctly judging the size of salmon populations is a constant challenge.
Salmon are affected by a many natural and human-caused factors, so their
numbers can vary widely. Changes in ocean conditions and weather
are beyond our control, and estimating the effects of these factors is
difficult. Other challenges include coordinating with international,
regional, and local agencies and groups; judging the effects of these different
regional fisheries on salmon stocks; recovering salmon under the Endangered
Species Act; dividing the harvest fairly; and restoring freshwater habitat.
Farmed salmon, bycatch, the use of hatcheries, and the differences between
wild and hatchery salmon are other hot topics relating to salmon.
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