2B | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
Otters
from 1B
it — we’ve been living with an
ecosystem that appears normal
and healthy, but it is not what it
was when sea otters were here.”
Evidence of the benefits of
sea otters in nearshore coastal
habitats has been measured in
California’s kelp forests and
estuarine habitats such as
Elkhorn Slough near Santa
Cruz, Calif.
Researchers found that the
addition of sea otters changed
species interactions in these
ecosystems to promote native
vegetation growth, such as eel-
grass, and helped offset nega-
tive effects of human-caused
pollution.
While
Oregon-based
researchers can study habitat
suitability for sea otter reintro-
duction, another key piece is
community education. “With
reintroduction, there will be
concern by other ocean
resource users that sea otters
could outcompete them,”
explained Bailey. “Part of it on
our end is to understand that
level of concern and to work to
investigate and avoid potential
impacts. For instance, we
learned at the Symposium that
there is no evidence that sea
Fishing
from 1B
levels. Fresh fish will continue
to enter the estuary on each
tide and “stage” throughout
the estuary waiting for a big-
ger rain event. Best techniques
include trolling herring/spin-
ners and bobber fishing with
bait.
All wild coho must be
released during the 2018 fall
salmon season.
Sea-run cutthroat will con-
tinue to enter the estuary and
lower river throughout the
month and into the fall. These
fish are very aggressive,
respond well to flies and lures,
and can be up to 20-inches
long.
SALMON RIVER:
Cutthroat trout, fall Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing on the
Salmon River has been slow
this year. Fish are being caught
every day but it has been slow
overall. Fish will continue to
stack up in the tidewater wait-
ing for the next big rain event.
Best techniques include troll-
ing herring/spinners, bobber
fishing with bait, and casting
spinners from the bank.
otters eat oysters — which is a
question likely to arise from
commercial oyster growers.”
The
Oregon
Coast
Aquarium — which sees over
420,000 guests a year — has
great potential to take a leader-
ship role in educating coastal
communities and beyond on
the significance of sea otter
reintroduction. And if the time
comes to physically relocate
and reintroduce sea otters to
Oregon, the aquarium’s sea
otter husbandry expertise and
resources will prove critical.
That’s where the new sea
otter holding facility comes in.
The aquarium is one of only
13 rehabilitation facilities
across North America autho-
rized to accept rescued sea
otters — but all are at full
capacity. Currently, an injured
or abandoned sea otter pup
deemed non-releasable may
have no facility available for
intake, which can result in
euthanasia.
Circumstances could wors-
en if an unusual mortality
event, such as an oil spill,
resulted in a large number of
animals requiring care and
treatment.
The aquarium is currently
home to three male sea otters,
Nuka, Schuster and Oswald. In
order to accept more of these
threatened species, the aquari-
um requires a separate holding
area for quarantine and treat-
ment.
In collaboration with
Oregon and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife agencies, the aquari-
um plans to build an addition-
al sea otter holding facility. It
will be placed adjacent to the
current otter habitat and
designed to facilitate Behind-
the-Scenes guest experiences
focused on sea otter natural
history and future reintroduc-
tion research.
This is part of a larger plan
for the aquarium to raise funds
to build a Marine Wildlife
Rehabilitation Center for
aquarium staff and veterinari-
ans to provide critical care for
injured or stranded marine
animals as well as the perma-
nent collection.
“If and when the time comes
for sea otter reintroduction on
the Oregon coast, additional
animal facilities at the aquari-
um can serve as areas for sea
otter quarantine and holding
for relocation” said Brittany
Blades, Assistant Curator of
Marine Mammals at the
Oregon Coast Aquarium and
Attendee to the Sea Otter
Symposium. “In the short
term, the sea otter holding area
will give us the ability to pro-
vide a home for an additional
rescued sea otter pup that
would otherwise have nowhere
else to go.”
The aquarium is raising
funds for the new sea otter
holding facility through dona-
tions. If you are interested in
contributing to our sea otter
program, you can make a
tax-deductible donation to the
Oregon Coast Aquarium, a
nonprofit organization, at
www.aquarium.org/give.
The Sea Otter Symposium
held by the Elakha Alliance
was a critical first step toward
potential sea otter reintroduc-
tion on the Oregon coast, said
Bailey.
“We are just beginning this
journey by reaching out to sci-
entists, agencies, zoos/aquari-
ums and people with reintro-
duction expertise in Alaska
and California to figure out the
best path,” said Bailey. “But
we’ve put our foot on the path,
and we’re determined to see
this through.”
For more information about
sea otter introduction in
Oregon or to get involved, con-
tact Robert Bailey at Elakha.
Alliance@gmail.com.
All wild coho must be
released during the 2018 fall
salmon season.
Sea-run cutthroat are also
available in the Salmon River.
Although not as popular as
the larger rivers in the area,
the Salmon River still provides
opportunity to catch these
scrappy trout up to 20-inches
in length.
Trout fishing is open in
streams and rivers.
SILETZ RIVER: Steelhead,
cutthroat trout, fall Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing on the
Siletz river/bay has been slow
but anglers are catching a few
fish every day. Fish are now
scattered throughout the
entire estuary and will contin-
ue to stage waiting for the
next big rain event. Best tech-
niques include trolling her-
ring/spinners lower in the
estuary, while bobber fishing
with bait and casting spinners
from the bank generally works
better higher in the estuary.
All wild coho must be
released during the 2018 fall
salmon season.
Summer steelhead are in
the river. Fishing has picked
up as water temperatures have
started to cool down and we’ve
had a few small rains. Most of
the fish are located in the
upper river especially in the
gorge area. Early mornings or
late evenings are not as critical
with the cooler temperatures
and overcast weather so fish-
ing can be good throughout
the day. Casting spinners,
drifting bait or using a bobber
and jig can be effective.
Steelhead fishing is open in
the gorge area year round but
salmon fishing/retention is
closed upstream of the Illahee
boat ramp located in the town
of Siletz during the fall salm-
on seasons.
The 3.5-mile bridge (aka
Steel Bridge) in the Siletz
gorge is open to motorized
vehicles, but is only open to
public vehicles on the week-
end. Anglers can walk/bike in
the road during the weekdays.
If anglers do walk in they can
park at the one-mile gate and
start from there.
WILSON RIVER: Steelhead,
trout, fall Chinook
Very few Chinook have
moved up into the Wilson
River as of yet, and with the
current low flows it will take a
significant rain event to move
fish into the river in any real
numbers. Bobber fishing bait,
back bouncing, back-trolling
divers and bait, and large
plugs are all good river tech-
niques for fall Chinook.
Hatchery summer steelhead
are available throughout the
system and there are some fish
getting caught. Fall can actual-
ly be a great time to target
summer steelhead, because
these fish will get more active
as water temperatures drop
with the cooler nights and
occasional rain freshens the
river.
Concentrate on deep pools
and riffles with some chop
and cover to them. Drift fish-
ing small presentations, spin-
ners, and flies are good choic-
es to target these fish.
Sea-run cutthroat are pres-
ent in good numbers on the
North Coast this year, and
anglers will find them
throughout the basin.
YAQUINA RIVER:
Cutthroat trout, fall Chinook
Fall Chinook fishing on the
Yaquina river/bay has been
slow but anglers are catching a
few each day.
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