Coho returning to Columbia River system in near-record numbers

[depakid]

A huge return of hatchery coho in Cedar Creek appeared after the recent rains. The fish are literally jamming the little creek that feeds the Sandy River, forcing fishery managers to quickly assemble workers to harvest the surplus fish that will be processed and donated to the Oregon Food Bank.
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First came the rain.

Then came the fish -- coho salmon surging upstream to spawn in numbers that Oregon fisheries managers hadn't seen in almost 20 years.

About 700,000 coho are expected to return to the Columbia River system this year, and the run so far is meeting those expectations. If the projection holds up, this year's coho return would be the second-highest since 1991, and at least 200,000 fish more than last year.

The big run couldn't have come at a better time for the Oregon Food Bank, which will receive surplus fish. The agency has seen demand for food jump 14 percent statewide in the past year as the economy has pushed families financially.

Even with the coho gains, fisheries officials say the run remains within the normal range of returns and probably doesn't represent a trend in the much larger effort of salmon recovery in the Columbia system. But fisheries experts are intrigued by some discoveries, such as a spike in coho returning naturally to the upper Willamette River, which hasn't been stocked with fish for a decade.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict a similarly large run next fall, and then a much smaller return in 2011. Ocean conditions are mostly responsible, but those conditions -- temperature, currents, upwelling -- are complex and dynamic. Coastal returns look strong as well.

Last Sunday, Ken Bourne, who manages the Sandy Fish Hatchery, found his holding ponds jammed with fish. Cedar Creek, a small stream that flows a mile into the Sandy River, was so plugged "you could have walked across on the backs of salmon." The veteran manager knew that the coming days would be frantic -- and rewarding.

Working from early morning until late in the day, Bourne and officials at other hatcheries swamped by the run have been filling big tubs with coho and ice. The tubs are trucked to Bellingham, Wash., where American Canadian Fisheries processes the fish and flash-freezes the fillets for a direct beneficiary of the increased run -- the Oregon Food Bank.

"We got that shot of rain last Saturday and, boom!" Bourne said.

Bourne had a similar experience in the fall of 1991. "We had just 600 fish come in, and then we got four days of rain," he said. "As far as you could see, it was tails and fins."

That run set the hatchery record for returning coho of 26,000 fish, and prompted fish and wildlife officials to forge the partnership with the Oregon Food Bank Last year, the hatchery's total run was 10,000 fish.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/10/coho_returning_to_columbia_sys.html

[Chemisse]

1. Doubly good news

Flourishing salmon and food for the needy.