Sockeye salmon in
the Columbia Basin have declined substantially from historic levels.
Historic runs were as large as 3 million fish. Most of the original
production of sockeye occurred in nursery lakes located in the uppermost
reaches of the Columbia and Snake River basins. Upstream passage was
blocked by the construction of several key dams including: Grand Coulee
Dam (completed 1941) in the upper Columbia system; and by Swan Falls
(1901), Sunbeam (1913-1934), Black Canyon (1914), and Brownlee (1958)
dams in the Snake system. Landlocked sockeye salmon, commonly called
kokanee, are still produced in many of the areas that formerly contained
anadromous runs. Currently, anadromous populations of sockeye originate
almost exclusively from natural production in the Wenatchee and Okanogan
basins. The anadromous run of sockeye in the Snake River has been reduced
to a remnant run in Redfish Lake. Fewer than 50 of these sockeye have
been counted annually at Lower Granite Dam since 1984. In December 1991,
NMFS listed Snake River sockeye as endangered under the ESA. (deleted
sentence referring to ‘positive results’ in 2000, which
went the other way up to 2005)
Sockeye salmon in
the Columbia River return as age-3, age-4, and age-5 fish with peak
passage over Bonneville Dam around July 1. Spawning occurs in September
and October. Juveniles normally rear in a freshwater nursery lake for
at least one full year before migrating to the ocean. Columbia River
sockeye are the southernmost sockeye run in North America.
Non-Indian and treaty
Indian commercial fisheries for sockeye occur when the escapement goal
of 75,000 at Bonneville Dam has been achieved and sufficient surplus
is available for fisheries. Commercial harvest of sockeye has not occurred
since 1988 except for small fisheries in 2000 and 2004. Last year (2007),
24 376 sockeye were counted at Bonneville Dam.
The 2008 preseason
forecast for sockeye in the Columbia River is for a return of 75,000
fish. (deleted partial sentence which partitioned a number for Redfish
Lake returns) An in-season run size update will be made in mid-to-late
June, based on Bonneville Dam counts. Daily and cumulative counts of
sockeye at the Columbia River dams are available at USACE Adult Fish
Counts.
In 2008, recreational
salmon fishing in the mainstem Columbia is closed to sockeye retention.
It is recommended that anglers refer to the WDFW Sport Fishing Rules
Pamphlet.
Recreational fishing
opportunity for sockeye in Lake Wenatchee is dependent on having harvestable
runs. Recreational fisheries for sockeye occurred in Lake Wenatchee
during the 1980s and early 1990s, and most recently during the 2001
and 2004 seasons. The fishery would typically open in early August and
remain open until the harvestable surplus was taken.
The escapement goal
at Priest Rapids Dam is 65,000 sockeye. Turn-off into Lake Wenatchee
is measured by subtracting the Rocky Reach Dam count from the Rock Island
Dam count. On average 50% of the sockeye run has crossed Rock Island
Dam by about July 13 and Rocky Reach Dam by July 17. Although no escapement
goal is formally established for the Wenatchee system, the past objectives
were to have 23,000 fish reach the spawning grounds after fisheries.
Based on harvest
estimates of prior years, it is expected that a fishery in Lake Wenatchee
would harvest about 16% of the Wenatchee River run. Therefore, a return
of about 27,000 sockeye in the Wenatchee component would be required
before opening a sport fishery. The pre-season forecast is for 13,700
Wenatchee River origin fish to return to the Columbia River in 2008.
