SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2017
3 B
New recovery plan aims for delisting Oregon coho
NOAA Fisheries
have
released a recovery plan for
Oregon Coast coho salmon that
calls for public-private partner-
ships to conserve habitat for the
threatened species, positioning
coho for possible removal from
the federal list of threatened
and endangered species within
the next 10 years.
If the plan is successful,
Oregon Coast coho could
become the first of 28 threat-
ened and endangered species of
salmon and steelhead on the
West Coast to recover to the
point they can be delisted from
the Endangered Species Act.
“We can see that recovery is
in reach for Oregon Coast
coho, which is a testament to
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the hard work by the state,
coastal communities and
landowners to restore habitat
and reduce threats from hatch-
eries and harvest,” said Barry
Thom, Regional Administrator
of NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast
Region. “Strong partnerships
have brought us this far, and
they will be critical to get the
rest of the way to delisting.”
As many as one to two mil-
lion coho once returned to
rivers and streams on the
Oregon Coast, supporting fish-
eries that helped anchor local
economies. Intensive fishing
and heavy logging through the
1900s contributed to declines,
and the number of spawning
adults dropped below 15,000 in
Honorable Mention
Jesus Sierra
Honorable mention goes
to Jesus Sierra who also
won two matches by fall
in Elmira, pinning Sweet
Home’s Noah Moore in
3:29 and Elmira’s Logan
Shoemaker in 1:49.
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habitat where many juvenile
coho spend their first year
growing before migrating to the
ocean.
A lack of large wood in
rivers that provides rearing
habitat for young fish is also a
factor. Reduced water quality
and barriers such as culverts
that block migrating fish pose
continuing threats.
“The best available science
tells us that habitat is the bot-
tom line in stabilizing and
rebuilding coho to the point
they can sustain themselves,”
said Rob Walton, recovery
coordinator
for
NOAA
Fisheries’ West Coast Region in
western Oregon. Coho remain
vulnerable to the effects of cli-
mate change on the rivers and
streams where they spawn and
rear, but improved habitat can
help mitigate those impacts.
The plan is voluntary, not
regulatory, and hinges on local
support and collaboration.
Coho recovery, and ultimately
delisting, will depend in large
part on voluntary actions by
partners implementing the
recovery plan, complemented
by regulatory protections under
the Endangered Species Act
and other state and local direc-
tives.
The plan promotes a network
of partnerships that integrate
the needs of Oregon Coast coho
with the needs of coastal com-
munities.
“The plan recognizes the
critical role of local landowners
and communities in bringing
about recovery,” said Guido
Rahr, president and CEO of the
Wild Salmon Center in
Portland, which is leading
development of a business plan
to guide local recovery meas-
ures. “We all must be part of a
solution that will deliver multi-
ple benefits for Oregon in the
form of resilient communities,
improved habitat and healthy
fish populations.”
For more details and to view
the recovery plan, visit NOAA
Fisheries West Coast Region
website at www.go.usa.gov/
x8w53.
Show your support of whales with new license plate
CORVALLIS — A new
license plate featuring a gray
whale and her calf likely will
be available to Oregon drivers
by summer 2017.
This project is sponsored by
the Oregon State University
Marine Mammal Institute and
enthusiasm for it is running
high, said Bruce Mate, director
of the institute. Thousands of
flyers will be passed out on the
Oregon coast in the coming
week to help residents learn
more about what they can do to
support the initiative.
“Everybody I’ve shown the
plate design to has loved it,”
said Mate, whose institute will
receive $35 from the Oregon
Department of Transportation
every time a vehicle owner
spends $40 to buy the plate.
The money will go toward
whale research, graduate stu-
dent education and public out-
Fishing
from 1B
Wrestling
The senior 170-pounder
won two of three matches
last week in Elmira,
pinning John Rasmussen
of Forest Grove in 1:30;
then doing the same to
Elmira’s Mikey Montgom-
ery in 1:05.
the 1980s.
NOAA Fisheries initially
listed Oregon Coast coho as a
threatened species in 1998.
The condition of the species
has since improved as state fish
and wildlife officials reduced
the risks posed by harvest and
hatcheries. Partnerships bridg-
ing state, local, tribal and feder-
al levels have helped imple-
ment projects to reopen and
improve habitat.
Recent numbers have ranged
from more than 350,000
spawning adults in 2011 and
2014, dropping back to 57,000
in 2015.
The threats still affecting
coho include degraded habitat,
especially the loss of floodplain
Fish are throughout the bay
and river. Eggs and bobber can
be productive in the upper bay
and river as the season pro-
gresses.
Steelhead fishing is open.
Fish are entering the mainstem
with the first entering steel-
head near the town of Alsea.
Casting spinners, drifting bait
or using a bobber and jig can
be effective.
SALMON RIVER: Chinook
The Salmon River and bay
is open for Chinook salmon.
The run is near the end but a
few fish are still entering the
system.
Trolling herring in the lower
bay is an effective technique.
Eggs and bobber can be pro-
ductive in the upper bay and
river as the season progresses.
Sulphur Creek angling is
restricted to single point hook
metal lures, fly angling, or
salmon bobber angling.
SILETZ RIVER: Steelhead,
Chinook
The Siletz River and bay is
open for Chinook salmon.
Fishing is slow.
Fish are throughout the bay
and river. Trolling herring in
the lower bay is an effective
technique. Eggs and bobber or
drifting eggs can be productive
in the upper bay and river as
reach.
The license plate depicts the
cow-calf pair on a two-tone
blue background that emulates
sea and sky. In the upper left
corner is a lighthouse, and
across the bottom it reads
“Coastal Playground.”
Renowned wildlife illustra-
tor Pieter Folkens created the
lifelike whale images, original-
ly for a poster for the Marine
Mammal Institute, which is
part of OSU’s College of
Agricultural Sciences.
“They’re
extremely
detailed,” Mate said. “You can
see every barnacle.”
The institute paid an applica-
tion fee of $5,000 to ODOT to
begin the license plate process,
Mate said, and will pay another
$80,000 to cover production
costs. In addition, it needs to
turn in an “expression of inter-
est” from at least 3,000 vehicle
owners stating they plan to buy
the plate.
To help with that, 30,000 fly-
ers will be distributed along the
coast by Oregon State Parks
and Recreation Department
volunteers helping out during
the annual weeklong “Whale
Watching Spoken Here” cele-
bration that runs between
Christmas and New Year’s.
Each flyer contains an expres-
sion-of-interest form.
There will be volunteers at
all Oregon coastal headlands to
help visitors see southward-
migrating gray whales.
Between 10,000 and 25,000
whale watchers interact with
the volunteers each year during
the week between Dec. 25 and
Jan. 1, Mate said.
Interest can also be regis-
tered online at www.mmi.ore-
gonstate.edu/whaleplate.
No financial commitment is
required, but it’s asked that
only those serious about buying
a Coastal Playground plate reg-
ister.
“It’s a great plate and pro-
motes coastal tourism and just
a healthy image for Oregon,”
Mate said. “I expect a lot of
people will like it, and it’s a
way for people to inexpensive-
ly support marine mammals.”
It’s not necessary to wait for
a vehicle’s registration to need
renewal, or buy a new car, to
purchase
the
Coastal
Playground plate, Mate noted.
For $40, a new plate can be
ordered at any time without
affecting the vehicle’s registra-
tion cycle.
“This plate is a joyful cele-
bration,” Mate said. “Gray
whales were on the Endangered
Species List because of
exploitation, and now they’re
the only whale species to have
been removed from the list
because they’ve recovered.
“And they’re Oregon’s flag-
ship large whale. Ninety-five
percent of the whales you see
from shore are gray whales.”
Visible from the coastline
year-round,
gray
whales
migrate past Oregon in both
directions on their annual jour-
ney between Alaska and Baja
California.
From late April to mid June,
northward-migrating females
and their calves stay close to
shore to avoid predation from
killer whales — so close, Mate
says, “you could practically
skip a stone out to them.”
During the first week in
January, the peak time for the
southern migration, gray
whales pass by Oregon viewing
points at an average rate of 35
whales per hour.
the season progresses.
Consult the regulations for
changes in deadline locations
through the season.
Steelhead fishing is slow.
Casting spinners, drifting bait
or using a bobber and jig can
be effective. For cutthroat
trout, casting small spinners,
spoons or fly fishing streamers
or dry flies can be very effec-
tive.
WILSON RIVER: Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing is fair
on the Wilson River. The
Wilson has fished well for fall
Chinook this season, and
although things will probably
start to slow down toward the
end of the month, there are
still some good fish coming in.
Keep an eye on the weather
and River conditions. All of
the usual techniques, such as
bobber fishing, divers and bait,
and back bouncing should be
effective.
The lower Wilson basin has
some early returning hatchery
fish and they should start trick-
ling in towards the end of the
month.
YAQUINA RIVER: Chinook
The Yaquina River and bay
is open for Chinook salmon.
Fishing is slow. Trolling her-
ring in the lower bay is an
effective technique.
Eggs and bobber can be pro-
ductive in the upper bay and
river as the season progresses.
14 to 15-inches long.
Worms fished near the lake
bottom work very well for
catching yellow perch. Anglers
should fish in water depths of
15 feet or deeper to consistent-
ly find the bigger yellow
perch.
ODFW encourages anglers
to release all prohibited rock-
fish by using a descending
device to safely return fish to a
depth of 60 feet or more. Even
fish that are severely bloated
can survive after being
released at depth.
For more information and
videos, please see the rockfish
recompression webpage.
There’s a new rockfish in
town: the Deacon rockfish.
Deacon rockfish is a newly
identified species that was for-
merly referred to as the solid
version of blue rockfish. What
does that mean for anglers?
Nothing in 2016.
Every rule that refers to blue
rockfish (like the daily bag
limit of 3 now applies to blue
rockfish and deacon rockfish
combined.
COOS COUNTY LAKES
AND PONDS: Trout
Rainbow trout were stocked
in Upper Empire, Bradley,
Saunders, Powers and
Butterfield lakes last month.
Anglers have been catching
lots of trout on Powerbait,
flies, or by trolling spinners.
This was the last stocking of
these lakes until the spring.
Trout anglers are also catch-
ing trout in Eel and Tenmile
lakes. Trolling wedding ring
spinners tipped with a night-
crawler has been really effec-
tive.
UMPQUA RIVER, SOUTH:
The South Umpqua is now
open.
WINCHESTER BAY:
Bottomfish, perch
Fishing for bottom fish in
the Triangle and South jetty
has been successful.
TENMILE BASIN: Trout,
bass, yellow perch, coho
Trout fishing in the streams
of the Tenmile Basin are now
closed until May 22.
Trout fishing in Tenmile
Lakes is open all year.
There is no wild coho fish-
ery in Tenmile Lakes this fall.
Largemouth bass fishing has
been decent over the past cou-
ple weeks. Anglers are catch-
ing bass near structure or on
the deep end of the weed lines
using spinner baits, jigs, or
rubber worms.
Fishing for yellow perch has
picked up in Tenmile Lakes.
Anglers have been catching a
few yellow perch measuring
PACIFIC OCEAN and
BEACHES: Bottomfish, surf
perch, salmon
Recreational ocean salmon
fishing from Cape Falcon to
Humbug Mt. is closed for
salmon fishing, except the Elk
River Chinook Terminal
Season is closed.
Both the All Depth and the
Nearshore Halibut seasons are
now closed.
Fishing for bottom fish
opened back up to all-depths.
Fishing for black rockfish
has been good from Coos Bay
south to Bandon. Fishing for
ling cod has been decent.
The marine fish daily bag
limit is seven fish and a sepa-
rate daily limit for lingcod (2).
Anglers can only keep 3 blue
rockfish and 1 canary rockfish
as part of their daily limit and
there will be no harvest of
China, quillback, or copper
rockfish. Anglers may harvest
1 cabezon per day.
B OTTOM F ISHING :
Fishing for bottomfish was
limited last week due to
weather conditions. For those
few who did venture out, there
was some success with lingcod
and rockfish.
The recreational groundfish
fishery is open at all depths
through March.
Buying or Selling? I can help.
P ACIFIC H ALIBUT :
Recreational halibut fishing
in all Oregon subareas are now
closed for the remainder of
2016. This year, anglers were
able to catch approximately 95
percent of the Oregon recre-
ational quota of just over
220,000 pounds.
The 2017 quota will be
determined in early January
2017.
B AY C LAMS :
Bay clamming is open along
the entire Oregon Coast from
the Columbia River to the
California border. Check the
ODFW Shellfish website for
where and when to harvest
your favorite bivalves.
Updated maps on where to
clam.
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