Oregon Facing a Difficult Salmon Year in 2016, as West Coast Indicators Worsen Especially for Coho
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by Susan Chambers February 26, 2016
Oregon ocean salmon fishermen face a difficult year, as the preliminary look at the 2016 forecast suggests low returns, but not closures as happened in the mid-2000's.
Managers from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the 2015 season and salmon returns and shared preliminary forecasts for 2016 with sport and commercial fishermen and processors at the Oregon Salmon Industry Group meeting in Newport, Ore., Thursday.
ODFW Fish Division Administrator Chris Kern summed up the season forecast simply: "We have way less fish to manage to," he said. "It's going to be less, but it's not going to be closed."
Commercial fishermen feared a repeat of completely closed or severely restricted seasons that were prevalent in the mid-2000s. While data is still very preliminary, Kern and others seemed confident fishermen will have the opportunity to harvest Chinook and keep existing market channels open.
One of the primary concerns was coho...
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