3 - 



z 

 o 



— WEIGHT 



-- NUMBERS OF FISH 



1890 



800 



700 



1930 

 YEAR 



Figure 2.— Commercial catch of echo salmon in the Columbia River, 1892-1967. [Data for 

 1892-1936 from Craig and Hacker (1940), for 1937 from Ward, Robison, and Palmen (1963), 

 and for 1938-67 from Fish Commission of Oregon and Washington Department of Fisheries 

 (1968).] 



the fishery experienced an almost continual 

 decline to the record low in 1958-60. In 1967- 

 68, however, the catch increased to about 2 

 million kg. 



The number of coho salmon landed in the 

 Columbia River commercial fisheries in 1938- 

 67 fluctuated from 15,000 to 1959 to 422,000 

 in 1966 (fig. 3) . The count at Bonneville Dam 

 varied from 790 in 1945 to 96,000 in 1967. 

 The major reasons for the upward trend of 

 the catch since 1960 (fig. 12) is undoubtedly 

 increased production and better survival of 

 hatchery fish. 



The Fish Commission of Oregon and the 

 Washington Department of Fisheries annually 

 have counted spawning coho salmon in index 

 areas in certain streams from 1952 to 1967. 

 These agencies, however, have not estimated 

 total spawning escapements because of the 



following difliculties: poor visibility caused 

 by high water, the very extensive spawning 

 grounds of the species, the necessity of repeat- 

 ing surveys to cover early and late runs in 

 some tributaries, and the extended period that 

 fish are on the spawning grounds (about 2 

 months). The first column of table 6 gives 

 an approximation of the numbers of spawners. 

 These estimates are based upon average index 

 counts per mile of stream for 1964-67, multi- 

 plied by the number of miles of streams; 

 exceptions were the Cowlitz, Willamette, Clack- 

 amas, and Sandy Rivers, for which counts at 

 Mayfield, Willamette Falls, North Fork, and 

 Marmot Dams were used." 



' Advice from Clint E. Stockley, Fishery Biologist, 

 Washington Department of Fisheries, for Washington 

 streams (April 1968) and Arthur L. Oakley, Fishery 

 Biologist, Fish Commission of Oregon, for Oregon 

 streams (April 1968). 



20 



