By QUINTON SMITH/Lincoln Chronicle
A rebound in the numbers of federally endangered Oregon coast coho salmon and a slower than expected start to the fall fishing season has led the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to extend the coho season on three Lincoln County river systems.
After judging returns and checking catch rates this fall, ODFW has added additional coho fishing days on the Siletz River, including Drift and Schooner creeks; the Yaquina River, including Big Elk Creek; and the Alsea River.
The agency said the additional fishing days beyond the current season for coho are possible without exceeding federal Endangered Species Act limits.
There are two reasons for that – more returning coho salmon and a lower-than-expected catch rate so far this fall, according to ODFW officials and biologists.
The number of coho salmon returning to Oregon’s coastal rivers has improved dramatically in recent years, to the point that they may qualify for removal from the federal Endangered Species Act list in coming years.
An average of 217,400 coho have returned to coastal rivers from 2021 to 2024, according to estimates by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
That’s a dramatic increase from the 1990s, when numbers dropped as low as 26,000 fish in 1997 and 35,000 in 1998. That downturn led to coho being listed as threatened under the federal ESA.
Historically, their numbers were as high as 700,000 to 800,000 fish in the 1950s and early 1960s.
“We’re on a path to delisting, but we do need to be prepared for future challenges,” Tom Stahl, ODFW’s deputy fish division administrator told a briefing for Oregon legislators on Sept. 30, according to the Salem Statesman Journal newspaper.
At the hearing, ODFW and nonprofit leaders talked about how wide-ranging partnerships improved habitat on coastal rivers across two decades, the Statesman Journal reported.
Groups removed river blockages, such as failing culverts, to make 2,744 stream miles accessible to coho. ODFW said that 6,100 miles of streamside habitat has been improved and 400 acres of wetlands restored through efforts using an array of state, federal and private funding.
“It takes a community to recover a species,” said Tim Elder, senior manager for habitat restoration with the Wild Salmon Center, the Statesman Journal reported. “This has been a monumental effort taking place for decades.”
Stahl warned, however, that warmer water temperatures were a big risk in the future and that restoration work needed to continue.
But coho have shown resilience, he said, even in years with poor ocean conditions they’ve been still returned in better numbers than the 1990s, the Statesman Journal reported.
“The work we’ve done has addressed freshwater habitat in a very strong way, and even when we’ve had very poor ocean conditions, they’ve rebounded quicker,” he said.
In addition to rebounding coho numbers overall, Dylan O’Keefe, ODFW’s interim regional fish biologist for the central coast, said low catch rates so far this fall was also a factor in extending the season.
O’Keefe said ODFW fish checkers with “boots on the ground” determined the coho catch rate started high early but had since turned spotty.
“It’s definitely not as brilliant as the numbers say it should be,” he said. “But water temperatures and conditions should improve with the rain the next few weeks.”
ODFW has a target catch rate of 30 percent of the returning coho, O’Keefe said. It’s predicted not to reach that, so ODFW staff asked its commission to add days in November when coho are likely higher in the Alsea, Yaquina and Siletz systems.
The extensions
Siletz River and Drift Creek: Getting two added days of coho fishing – Nov. 15-16. The limit is still one fish per day and three for the season from the river’s mouth upstream to the Illahee boat ramp; Drift Creek from the mouth upstream to the steel bridge entering Mennonite Camp; and Schooner Creek from the mouth upstream to the confluence with Erickson Creek. In 2024 there were 1,297 coho caught in the Siletz system.
Yaquina River and Big Elk Creek: Getting more than two weeks — Nov. 1 to Nov. 16 added to its coho season. The limit is still one per day and three for the season from Yaquina Bay and river upstream to the confluence with Simpson Creek and on Big Elk Creek, from the mouth upstream to the confluence with Bear Creek. In 2024 the coho catch was 1,885.
Alsea River and bay/Drift Creek: The Alsea system has a split season for coho — Sept. 13 to Oct. 12 and then Oct. 25 to Nov. 7. Now the season has been extended from Nov. 8 to Nov. 16. The bag limit is one per day and three for the season – an increase from two for the season last year. The coho catch total in 2024 was 1,168.
O’Keefe said ODFW has been cautious in adding coho fishing days and bag limits while focusing efforts on watershed restoration during all life stages of coho salmon.
“It’s important to highlight that coho are still ESA listed, however we’re not in the situation for a permanent coho listing,” he said. “We’re on the right track and starting to see some of the benefits of decades of work … but we’re still on the conservative side in setting these seasons.”
- Quinton Smith is the editor of Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
What a darling picture of the 3 year old Harlan and his coho salmon! Great job to the photographer.