Why are commercial fisheries open right now, when sport fisheries are closed?
Oregon State Law (ORS 506.109) directs the Fish and Wildlife Commission to provide for recreational and commercial harvest opportunity and to “manage food fish for optimum economic, commercial, recreational, and aesthetic benefits”. Recreational and commercial fisheries in the Columbia River are managed under fishery-specific quotas in most seasons. This means that recreational fisheries have one quota and commercial fisheries have a separate quota. These individual quotas can also be even more specific, for instance, there may be separate sub-quotas for the Buoy 10 recreational fishery and the mainstem Columbia River recreational fishery, or for commercial salmon fisheries in different areas of the river. Separate quotas are intended to provide opportunity in different parts of the river and help ensure that one fishery is not closed due to higher than expected catches in another. Because of these individual quotas and sub-quotas, it is common for one fishery (commercial or recreation
Related Questions
- If there are so few salmon that sport fisheries are being reduced or closed, why doesn’t ODFW simply raise more hatchery fish?
- Will fish mariculture in the Strait interfere with navigation, sport and commercial fisheries or wildlife use of the area?
- Why are commercial fisheries open right now, when sport fisheries are closed?
