September 3, 2021 – UPDATE– Recreational Ocean Salmon: The recreational hatchery mark selective coho salmon season from Cape Falcon to the OR/CA border closed on August 28 as scheduled. The quota of 120,000 marked coho was not met, and an estimated 51,724 coho were left on the quota. A non-mark selective coho season for Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. is scheduled to be open each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday beginning on September 10 and continuing through the earlier of the non-mark selective coho quota of 14,000 coho or the end of September. Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife fishery managers have requested that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) calculate the number of fish that could be rolled forward on an “impact neutral” basis from the remaining summer fishery quota to the September non-mark selective fishery quota. “Impact neutral” means that the conversion of quota from the summer season to the September season will not result in increased impacts on any Endangered Species Act listed coho stock or any other stocks of management concern when compared to the preseason expectations. This calculation indicates that no more than 6,230 coho could be added to the non-mark selective coho salmon season and stay “impact neutral” on all coho stocks of management concern. A conference call is scheduled with NMFS for September 14 to formalize the “roll-over” calculation. On that call, ODFW will have the opportunity to request that all or a portion of the available “roll-over” be added to the September non-mark selective coho season. A preliminary estimate of the harvest from the first 3-day opening in September will be presented during the call which may warrant further adjustments to the fishery, such as, adding additional open days per week or scheduling an earlier ending date if needed.
