Sturgeon Season Closes Above The Dalles Dam

36 fish per week is the average harvested in the last 3 weeks.

A Columbia River sturgeon leaps into the air. Courtesy: RiverSturgeonColumbia.com

(CLACKAMAS, Ore) - Fishery managers from Oregon Washington closed the Columbia River to retention of sturgeon in The Dalles Reservoir between The Dalles and John Day dams, effective May 6.

The action was taken during a joint hearing of the two states based on surveys indicating that anglers are on track to achieve their harvest guideline of 300 sturgeon by that date.

Through April 25, anglers had harvested 264 sturgeon. Over the past three weeks, harvest has averaged 36 fish per week.

This is the third sturgeon retention closure of the year above Bonneville dam. Bonneville Reservoir closed on Feb. 21 when the harvest guideline of 1,400 fish was achieved, and the John Day Reservoir closed on March 1 when the harvest guideline for that section of river was met.

Catch and release angling is allowed year-round between Bonneville and McNary dams except in the sturgeon spawning sanctuaries in place May 1 through July 31 downstream of both the John Day and McNary dams.

The Columbia River offers premiere opportunities to fish for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, shad and a variety of warmwater species.

Management of the river and its fisheries is a responsibility shared by state, federal and tribal agencies. The overarching management objective is to meet conservation requirements while providing optimum sport and commercial fishing opportunities.

Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife