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43 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, December 13, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 11, 2003 Fishery opens for wild coho today at Florence lakes By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Sport-anglers can catch and keep wild coho salmon in two coastal lakes beginning today under an unprecedented fishing season targeting a threatened salmon. NOAA-Fisheries on Tuesday gave approval to a state plan for anglers to harvest a limited number of wild coho this month from Siltcoos and Tahkenitch lakes near Florence. It marks the first time that sport-anglers can target a salmon otherwise protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. It also is the first time wild coastal coho can be kept by anglers in a decade. Federal biologists concluded that the lakes, which are attached to the Pacific by creeks, sport runs of wild coho that state and federal biologists deemed healthy and stable enough to host a light, heavily monitored fishery through December. "In areas with very strong wild coho returns, a limited harvest is entirely appropriate," said Steve King, salmon program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Advertisement "The science is totally behind us," he said. "And if we can find other areas where (coastal Oregon wild coho) are strong then, yes, we’ll propose to open fisheries in those areas." But some wild salmon advocates like Bill Bakke of Portland decried the decision as an "ugly precedent" of targeting depressed runs for angling even before they recover enough to be taken off the threatened species roll. "It sets the stage for all sorts of mischief and misuse of the Endangered Species Act," said Bakke, founder of the Portland-based Native Fish Society. "The Bush administration wants wild coho de-listed and this is the first step." Beginning today, anglers can keep one wild adult coho and one wild jack coho a day, and no more than five throughout the three-week season. In future years, the season would run Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 when run forecasts exceed minimum levels. Anglers in Siltcoos will have a quota of 300 fish this month, while Tahkenitch will have a 200-fish quota. In future years, the two lakes will operate under a 1,000-fish quota. Under the Endangered Species Act, harvest of wild coastal coho — called a "direct take" — has been illegal since they were listed in 1993. The ODFW, however, receives federal permits that legalize the "incidental" take of wild coho that die after they are accidentally caught and then released during seasons targeting other fish, such as hatchery coho. The ODFW asked for and received permission to take some of the acceptable loss from the incidental take and put them into the hands of sport-anglers. ODFW technicians scrambled Wednesday to post signs informing people of the new fishery and marking areas of the lakes off-limits to fishing. The agency hoped to gain NOAA-Fisheries approval in time to open the season in October. By now, about 90 percent of the wild coho likely have already passed through the lakes and into upstream tributaries to spawn, said Bob Buckman, an ODFW biologist in Newport. Angling effort, and catches, likely will be light, but the ODFW wanted to set the precedent for the limited season by opening it anyway, Buckman said. "We figured we’d take any fishery we can get," Buckman said. The Siltcoos and Tahkenitch proposals were deemed templates for how other similar fisheries could be opened in the future under the act. They were approved after NOAA-Fisheries, formerly called the National Marine Fisheries Service, conducted an environmental assessment on them this fall. King said streams like the Coos and Coquille rivers, which sport strong wild coho runs, could be tapped for similar fisheries in future years. However, King said, there are no immediate plans to seek wild coho fisheries elsewhere in Oregon. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. 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