UNIT 12 

 PACIFIC COAST SALMON 



lations of Pacific salmon and anadromous trout as 

 endangered species, the National Marine Fisiier- 

 ies Service (NMFS) announced its intent to con- 

 duct comprehensive, coastwide status reviews of 

 all species oi Pacific salmon. These status reviews 

 have been completed lor most species and have 

 resulted in listings ot coho salmon from central 

 California through coastal Oregon, chinook 

 salmon in California's Central Valley and the up- 

 per Columbia and Snake River Basins, and sock- 

 eye salmon in the Snake River Basin. In March 

 1999, NMFS announced the most comprehen- 

 sive listing decision yet with final listings ol nine 

 evolutionarily significant units (ESU's) ol salmon 

 (chinook, chum, and sockeye) and steelhead trout 

 ranging from the upper Columbia River through 

 Pugct Sound. These listings include the metropoli- 

 tan areas ot Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., 

 within the boundaries of the listed ESU's. 



Landings 



(x 1,000.000 



fish) 



3 5- 



Total landings 



Recreational 



I 



Year 



RESOURCE STATUS 



Chinook Salmon 



Chinook salmon are produced primarily by 

 rivers and hatcheries in Puget Sound in Washing- 

 ton, the Columbia River, the Umpqua and Rogue 

 Rivers in Oregon, and the Klamath and Sacra- 

 mento Rivers in California. Chinook salmon 

 stocks are named tor the season in which they mi- 

 grate trom the ocean to freshwater to spawn, and 

 include spring, summer, tall and winter rtms. The 

 proportion of chinook salmon production origi- 

 nating from hatcheries has been increasing. 



Chinook salmon production tends to fluctu- 

 ate considerably (Figure 12-1) depending on 

 hatchery production, treshwater habitat condi- 

 tions, and ocean prociuctivity. In recent years, 

 treshwater habitat U)ss and degradation have been 

 exacerbated by drought in many areas in the west, 

 and ocean conditions have been generally unfa- 

 vorable for chinook salmon since the late 1970s. 

 This has resulted in historically low levels ot a 

 number ot stocks and reduced commercial and 

 recreational catches in many areas. Currently, the 

 Snake River spring/summer run and Snake River 

 fall run ESU's are listed as threatened, and the Sac- 

 ramento River winter-run ESU has been listed as 

 an endangered species by the NMFS. In addition, 



on 28 February 1998 NMFS proposed listing the 

 Sacramento Central Valley spring run and the Up- 

 per Columbia spring run ESU's as endangered and 

 six additional ESU's as thteatened. Concern tor 

 the status of depressed stocks and biological opin- 

 ions requiring reduced impacts on listed ESU's has 

 led to increasingly restrictive ocean fishing seasons 

 in recent years. 



Coho Salmon 



Coho salmon are produced primarily by riv- 

 ers and hatcheries in the Puget Sound area in Wash- 

 ington, hatcheries on the Columbia Rivet, and 

 coastal rivers and hatcheries in Oregon and t'ali- 

 tornia. Hatcheries play a larger role in the pro- 

 duction ot coho salmon than in the case ot chinook 

 salmon, in some areas accounting tor over SD'yo ot 

 the catch. Recent reductions in landings have re- 

 sulted from record low abundances of several stocks 

 ot coho salmon including Oregon coast natutal 

 and Columbia River hatchery stocks (Figure 12- 

 2). To protect the spawning escapement ot these 

 stocks and to provide fish tor the legally-mandated 

 tribal allocation, severe restrictions have been 

 placed on ocean fisheries since 1993. In May 1994, 

 retention of coho salmon was prohibited in all 

 ocean fisheries, and no retention of coho salmon 



Figure 12-1 



Chinook salmon landings, 

 1960-97. 



1 51 



