05-02-2008, 08:17 PM
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will set the salmon fishing seasons in an open public meeting at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 16.
The commissioners will meet by telephone conference at 8 a.m. at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at 600 S. Walnut Street in Boise. Commissioners are expected the set spring Chinook salmon seasons on the Clearwater, Snake River, Lower and Little Salmon.
Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting the Director's office at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game directly at 208 334 5159 or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1 800 377 2529 (TDD).
Fishery managers are forecasting nearly 100,000 Chinook salmon across Lower Granite Dam on their return to Idaho.
They expect 83,550 hatchery salmon to cross Lower Granite Dam and most of those to return to Idaho. But only 14,150 wild fish are expected. In 2007, the total forecast return was 27,700 and the actual count was 29,240 at Lower Granite Dam, the last of eight federal dams the fish encounter on their way back to Idaho rivers.
Some forecast numbers available for nontribal fisheries proposed for commission consideration include:
On the Clearwater River - more than 8,000 fish.
On the Snake between Dug Bar and Hells Canyon Dam - about 1,000 fish.
On the Salmon between Hammer Creek and the Rapid River - about 9,000 fish.
In May, Fish and Game will submit a proposal for additional fisheries for spring and summer Chinook salmon, including summer Chinook in the South Fork Salmon River and salmon returning to the Sawtooth Hatchery on the upper Salmon River near Stanley. The last time anglers could fish for Chinook in the Sawtooth Valley was in 1977. Forecast returns available for harvest in these two fisheries are:
South Fork Salmon River - about 2,300 fish.
Upper salmon River - about 790 fish.
Forecasts of fish available for harvest are pre-season guidelines. Fisheries will be monitored carefully. Limits on salmon take to protect the wild origin Chinook salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act are set under a permit from NOAA Fisheries.
Fish managers also must ensure that hatchery run projections are accurate, that the nontribal share of fish harvest is not exceeded, and that hatchery brood stock goals are reached.
The commissioners will meet by telephone conference at 8 a.m. at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at 600 S. Walnut Street in Boise. Commissioners are expected the set spring Chinook salmon seasons on the Clearwater, Snake River, Lower and Little Salmon.
Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting the Director's office at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game directly at 208 334 5159 or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1 800 377 2529 (TDD).
Fishery managers are forecasting nearly 100,000 Chinook salmon across Lower Granite Dam on their return to Idaho.
They expect 83,550 hatchery salmon to cross Lower Granite Dam and most of those to return to Idaho. But only 14,150 wild fish are expected. In 2007, the total forecast return was 27,700 and the actual count was 29,240 at Lower Granite Dam, the last of eight federal dams the fish encounter on their way back to Idaho rivers.
Some forecast numbers available for nontribal fisheries proposed for commission consideration include:
On the Clearwater River - more than 8,000 fish.
On the Snake between Dug Bar and Hells Canyon Dam - about 1,000 fish.
On the Salmon between Hammer Creek and the Rapid River - about 9,000 fish.
In May, Fish and Game will submit a proposal for additional fisheries for spring and summer Chinook salmon, including summer Chinook in the South Fork Salmon River and salmon returning to the Sawtooth Hatchery on the upper Salmon River near Stanley. The last time anglers could fish for Chinook in the Sawtooth Valley was in 1977. Forecast returns available for harvest in these two fisheries are:
South Fork Salmon River - about 2,300 fish.
Upper salmon River - about 790 fish.
Forecasts of fish available for harvest are pre-season guidelines. Fisheries will be monitored carefully. Limits on salmon take to protect the wild origin Chinook salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act are set under a permit from NOAA Fisheries.
Fish managers also must ensure that hatchery run projections are accurate, that the nontribal share of fish harvest is not exceeded, and that hatchery brood stock goals are reached.