NEWPORT, Ore. In the wake of poor Chinook salmon returns in 2019 and a low fall Chinook forecast for 2020, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife this week announced that it is reducing the bag limit on Siletz River early returning wild Chinook to one adult Chinook per day, effective May. 1 through July 31. Prior to the rule change, the bag limit was two adult wild Chinook.

The reduced bag limit was triggered by a provision of the ODFW’s Coastal Multi-Species Conservation Management Plan that requires ODFW to lower harvest impacts when population forecasts decline to a certain point. The reduced bag limit is intended to improve natural production of wild Chinook.

The temporary rule, adopted April 22, reduces the seasonal bag limit for adult wild Chinook salmon in the Siletz River basin from the permanent limit of one per day and two for the period of April 1 through July 31, 2020 to one adult wild Chinook for the season from May 1 through July 31, 2020.