The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Wednesday temporarily closed recreational fishing and shellfishing statewide in the wake of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s order directing Washingtonians to stay home to limit the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19. A few hours later the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it will close recreational angling for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River, effective Thursday, March 26 at 11:59 p.m.
The number of watercraft inspections completed in 2019 across the four Northwest states rose 6 percent from 2018, but the number of contaminated recreational vessels intercepted at the stations that had invasive quagga or zebra mussels attached dropped 2 percent to 93 boats, according to a draft report by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission that was completed last week.
A new study shows that two important indicators for understanding and predicting the effects of climate variability on eastern North Pacific marine ecosystems are less reliable than they were historically. This finding has important implications for fisheries and ecosystem management from Alaska to California.
With warm, dry weather forecasted, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, is refilling its 13 Willamette Valley Project reservoirs and two Rogue River Basin Project reservoirs to prepare for the spring and summer conservation seasons.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on March 20 approved spring chinook fishing on the Clearwater, Snake, Salmon and Little Salmon rivers to start April 25, 2020 and run until closed by the Fish and Game director.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the initiation of five-year status reviews for 129 species in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, California, and Nevada under the Endangered Species Act, including threatened Columbia River basin bull trout.
An analysis of two walleyes found last year in Upper Thompson Lake confirmed the non-native fish were illegally introduced on separate occasions from the Lower Clark Fork reservoir system.
