42 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 8 



Although the new display v/ill add greatly to 

 the visitor's enjoyment of a trip to Bonne- 

 ville Hatchery, the facility still remains es- 

 sentially an important salmon production sta - 

 tion rather than merely a recreational tour 

 attraction, it was emphasized. Bonneville 

 Hatchery is one of 15 operated by the Oregon 

 Fish Commission in the Columbia River sys- 

 tem and on various coastal streams. 



The Bonneville station is financed in part 

 by the Federal Government under terms of 

 the Columbia River Fishery Development 

 Program and is to provide, at least in part, 

 mitigation for damage to the Columbia River 

 runs by construction of dams in the river 

 system. 



About 5.5 million fall chinook and 1.5 mil- 

 lion young coho salmon are liberated each 

 season into the Columbia River at the hatch- 

 ery. Returns of adult fish to the station have 

 been increasing each year and tagging stud- 

 ies have shown Bonneville fish make a sub- 

 stantial contribution to both sport and com- 

 mercial fisheries offshore as well as in the 

 Columbia River. 



Adults from the 5.5 million fall chinook 

 which were released in June will return to 

 the hatchery stream on their spawning run 

 mainly as 3- and 4 -year old fish with a scat- 

 tering of 5 -year olds and some 2 -year old 

 jacks. "We now have at the Bonneville Hatch- 

 ery a display which we feel will make a tour 

 of the facility an enjoyable and worthwhile 

 experience," the Fisheries Director said. 

 "The grounds are open every day and we en- 

 courage everyone who is interested in North- 

 west fish and conservation to plan to visit 

 the Bonneville Hatchery in the near future." 

 (Oregon Fish Commission, June 24, 1966.) 



:{c :^ ^ :^ :^ 



SALMON SPAWNING AREAS 

 OPENED BY REMOVAL OF DAM : 



Removal of Dee Dam on the East Fork of 

 Hood River has made at least 40 miles of 

 spawning and rearing area on both the East 

 and Middle Forks readily available to salm- 

 on and steelhead, the Oregon Fish Commis- 

 sion reported. Prior to a complete block to 

 upstream passage caused by the flood in 1964, 

 there had been some use of upstream spawn- 

 ing areas by anadromous fish, mainly steel - 

 head, but passage over the inadequate fish- 

 way at Dee Dam had been of concern to the 

 fishery management agencies for many years. 



Dam construction, water diversions, in- 

 dustrial developments and other demands 

 have continually reduced the Columbia River 

 system's available spawning and rearing 

 areas over the years. For this reason, open- 

 ing the East and Middle Forks of Hood River 

 to ready access by anadromous fish is es- 

 pecially significant. 



Although both coho and chinook salmon as 

 well as steelhead have utilized the spawning 

 and rearing areas on the East and Middle 

 Forks, the runs of those species were termed 

 remnant by the project leader of the Com- 

 mission's Columbia River watershed devel- 

 opment program. One of the main reasons 

 for the reduced salmonid runs is the long- 

 term inadequate passage at Dee Dam, 



The Hood River system, typical of those 

 of glacial origin, is subject to periods of high 

 runoff and resultant scouring of the stream- 

 bed. Despite this situation, the East and 

 Middle Forks have a considerable quantity of 

 good spawning and rearing area for anadro- 

 mous fish. Experimental releases ofmarked 

 coho fingerlings have resulted in encourag- 

 ing returns of adult fish. Additional empha- 

 sis will now be given to building up the coho 

 runs in that portion of the drainage. It is 

 planned to supplement natural production of 

 anadromous salmonids with releases of 

 hatchery stock, the Commission stated. 



Although it will take some time to deter- 

 mine the contribution of the East and Middle 

 Forks in helping to maintain and increase 

 the salmon and steelhead runs of the Colom- 

 bia River, removal of Dee Dam is a big 

 step in the right direction. (Oregon Fish 

 Commission, June 9, 1966.) 



Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission 



ANNUAL SPRING MEETING 



FOR 1966 HELD: 



The Executive Committee of the Pacific 

 Marine Fisheries Commission (PMFC)held 

 its annual spring meeting in Portland, Oreg., 

 on June 21, 1966. 



Alarm at the continuing presence and in- 

 creasing number of Soviet fishing vessels off 

 Oregon and Washington was expressed by 

 the director of the California Department of 

 Fish and Game, The presence of the Soviet 



