Biologists interested in loosening restrictions on wild coho fishing.

Byline: Mike Stahlberg / The Register-Guard

IS IT TIME to begin knocking a few openings in the Endangered Species Act wall protecting wild coho salmon?

Many fishermen think so, after learning the biggest run of wild coho salmon in 40 years hit Oregon coastal rivers this winter.

And Bob Buckman thinks so, too - although he's not willing to ease protections for wild coho as much as some fishermen would like.

Buckman, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologist, is proposing what would be the first targeted harvest of wild coho salmon since the species was listed as "threatened" by the federal government in the mid-1990s.

His would be a small step, limited in geographic scope and in the size of the harvest. But it would be a significant first step toward reopening some traditional fisheries.

Buckman outlined his proposal at a recent meeting of the Florence STEP club, a volunteer group active in salmon restoration efforts. Most of its members are dedicated anglers.

He is recommending that the Fish and Wildlife Commission allow a limited harvest of wild coho in Siltcoos, Tahkenitch and Tenmile lakes, starting this fall.

Several thousand coho salmon swim through each of those coastal lakes every year, en route to spawning beds in tributary streams.

Prior to 1995, anglers targeted these fish. An average of 3 percent (at Tahkenitch) to 13 percent (at Siltcoos) of the returning adults were caught, ODFW records say.

"We always had a good salmon run in the fall," said Kathy Insall of Tahkenitch Fishing Village. "You could go down to our dock and watch them swim past. ... People would catch some nice big ones."

Buckman, based in Newport, oversees the district that includes Siltcoos and Tahkenitch lakes. His proposal has the support of Mike Gray, the Charleston-based biologist responsible for Tenmile Lakes.

Both men agree that it would be be "biologically sound" to allow 5 to 10 percent of the returning coho to be harvested. All three watersheds would still have enough spawners to be "fully seeded" Buckman said, even if 1,000 to 2,000 coho were harvested from the three lakes.

"This is a very conservative proposal," he said.

Buckman envisions a bag limit similar to the one used for wild steelhead on several south-coast rivers - one per day, five per year.

His proposal comes on the heels of the largest return of wild coho salmon to the Oregon Coast in decades - including an estimated 57,000 to the Siuslaw River alone.

But Buckman's recommendation is not based on that big spike in the number of returning salmon.

In fact, he and Gray disappointed some STEP Club members by saying they cannot support reopening any of the coastal rivers to the harvest of wild coho.

Some STEP club members had been lobbying for such a move.

"As long as ocean conditions remain favorable, I believe we can allow a fishery of up to 1,000 wild coho on the Siuslaw system without any impact on wild fish," club member Ron Caputo said. "We'd still see increases in spawning coho."

But "one good year doesn't establish a pattern," Buckman said. Several more years of strong returns are needed before the in-river harvest of wild coho will be justified scientifically, he said.

But the three big midcoast lakes are different, Buckman said, because those watersheds have been consistently productive - even during the period when neighboring river-based runs were in a downward spiral.

Buckman believes the data will convince federal fishery managers that the lake-based populations are not really threatened and, thus, do not need the protection of a "no harvest" rule.

If he's persuasive, anglers may find themselves in the odd position of being required to release a wild coho caught in the ocean, but allowed to keep the very same fish a few weeks or days later in Siltcoos, Tahkenitch or Tenmile lakes.

Outdoor writer Mike Stahlberg can be reached at 338-2332 or [e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

INSIDE THE OUTDOORS