Hatchery mark-selective (fin-clipped hatchery) coho fisheries have been an effective tool to allow for longer fishing seasons and larger quotas than could be obtained in a fishery where non-clipped coho are allowed in the bag limit. Mark-selective fishing seasons are considered in those areas where hatchery salmon are expected to make up a large portion of the catch, where the majority of the hatchery salmon are fin-clipped, and where conservation or fishery management concerns limit non-selective seasons to very short durations. In 2018, all fishing impacts for coho were limited to no more than 18% of Lower Columbia River coho (LCN) and 15% of the Oregon Coastal Natural coho (OCN) populations. Other stocks of coho off the Washington Coast were also of concern and were an added limitation on seasons. Within the developed seasons it was forecast that 16.2% of the LCN coho will be impacted with 3.8% coming from the Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. sport seasons. For OCN coho, overall impacts were forecast at 12.9% with 7.5% coming from the Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. sport seasons.
The most common concern expressed by anglers about selective fisheries is that they are having to release too many fish to catch hatchery fish for retention, and that too many released fish will not survive. Expected mortality of coho released during the fishery is included in the analysis when the ocean salmon seasons are developed in the spring. However, while some released wild coho will die, in a non-selective fishery 100% of wild coho retained will die and are counted against allowable limits. However, in a mark-selective coho fishery only 15% of the wild coho that are caught and released will count against the allowable impact. Based on the estimated post-release mortality rates, annual quotas for a mark-selective coho fishery in Oregon are expected to be at least three to four times greater than if anglers were allowed to retain all coho. This results in a higher overall harvest of coho and longer coho seasons than can be attained with non-selective coho seasons.
It is true that not all hatchery coho are fin-clipped. Currently, both ODFW and WDFW fin clip nearly 100% of their hatchery coho production. However there are a number of hatchery releases – such as those used in upper basin reintroduction and research efforts – that are not fin clipped. Hatchery coho for the 2018 fishing season were released from hatcheries in 2017. A total of 17 million hatchery coho were released from the Columbia Basin in 2017. Of that total, 15 million, or 89%, were marked with an adipose fin-clip. In addition to hatchery clipping rates, the rate at which anglers will encounter unmarked coho is affected by the relative abundance of wild coho from a variety of areas. This rate will vary depending on when and where anglers are fishing. Highest fin-clipped rates will be encountered prior to mid-August, and higher rates are more typically observed on the North and Central Oregon Coast than on the South Oregon Coast. This is because the majority of hatchery coho in the ocean off Oregon come from releases in the Columbia River basin. Those fish begin to return to the Columbia in August, and tend to be in greater abundance closer to the Columbia.
For example, using a rough breakdown of the preseason expectations from this season (using 50% fin-clipped encounter rate, 89% of hatchery coho being clipped, and 15% hook and release mortality rate) a boat catching 100 coho season during the season could expect the following: 50 fin-clipped hatchery coho that would be kept, 6 non fin-clipped hatchery coho released, and 44 wild coho released. Of the 44 released wild coho, the expectation is that about 7 would not survive (44 x 0.15 = 6.6). For the same 100 hooked coho catch if this was a non-selective fishery, the retained catch would consist of the same mix of fish, but all of the wild fish would now be dead and count against the limitations. So for that same boat to stay with the same number of impacted wild coho as in the selective fishery, their catch in a non-selective season would decline from the 50 retained fin-clipped hatchery coho to roughly 15 retained coho (8 fin-clipped hatchery coho, 1 non-clipped hatchery coho, and 6 wild coho).
This all means that in order to stay within the allowed impacts on the critical populations of coho, the quotas in a non-selective quota are dramatically lower than in a hatchery mark selective season. A smaller quota also means a much shorter season. When the public has been presented the option of a larger selective quota vs. a much smaller non-selective coho quota, they have overwhelmingly chosen the selective fishery option. This year, the choice for the Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. summer season would have been between a selective season quota of 35,000 fin-clipped coho from late June through early September with an additional non-selective season in September of 3,500 coho; and a purely non-selective quota that would have been about 10,000 coho for the same level of impacts to the limitations. It is very likely that the season would have lasted less than 3 weeks as opposed to the 11-12 weeks of coho fishing that are anticipated open under the current season structure.
Our port sampling so far this season indicates that the ratio of non-clipped coho is higher than was forecast. However, it’s important to remember that many factors affect the mark rate of fish encountered. These include better wild coho production than forecast, lower hatchery coho survival than forecast, or abnormal ocean distribution of the coho populations off of Oregon. Efforts to develop inseason updates of salmon abundances in the ocean based on fishery performance have been hindered by very high uncertainty, and as of today, no reliable method has been found. As a result, fishery managers are unable to determine which of those possibilities is actually occurring until well after fish return to spawn. In the meantime, we hope anglers will work hard to insure that as many of the coho they have to release do survive.
Some tips for improving survival of released salmon include: