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Welcome to the Ocean Salmon Management Program
(commercial troll salmon and ocean recreational salmon fisheries)
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Recreational ocean salmon regulations:
State waters only fall Chinook terminal area seasons:
- Will be under consideration for 2023
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Commercial ocean troll salmon regulations:
State waters only fall Chinook terminal area seasons:
- Will be under consideration for 2023
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Other regulation information:
Related links:
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Catch and quota updates:
Last updated: December 16, 2022 (2022 updates made to all historical charts and tables)
 Updated through September 30, 2022 (pdf) - last updated October 6, 2022 Closed to all salmon fishing for the remainder of 2022.
 Updated through October 31, 2022 (pdf) - last updated November 7, 2022 (all seasons closed as of October 31, 2022)
 (updated December 7, 2022)
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March 11, 2023 UPDATE: Ocean Salmon Season Alternatives Posted
On Friday, March 10 the Pacific Fishery Management Council concluded the development of the range of ocean salmon season options that will go out for additional public input before finalizing a single set of season proprosals to the US Dept. of Commerce at the April 1-7 PFMC meeting in Foster City, California.
March 9, 2023 COMMERCIAL TROLL SALMON ACTION NOTICE (1 of 2): The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the State of Oregon, and the State of California met today via a blended conference call and in person meeting and have taken the following in-season management action related to the scheduled March 15 commercial troll Chinook salmon openings off Oregon:
ACTION TAKEN:
The commercial ocean troll salmon fishery seasons scheduled to be open between March 15 and May 15 in ALL areas from Cape Falcon to the Oregon California Border are canceled for 2023.
RATIONALE: Multiple stocks of California Chinook Salmon are at extremely low abundance and are projected to potentially fall below target spawning escapements. Guidance from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for 2023 ocean salmon seasons for Sacramento River fall Chinook was that “extraordinary measures are needed in 2023 to address these circumstances and to ensure that fishery management is not a contributing factor.” For Klamath River fall Chinook the NMFS guidance is “that a precautionary approach is warranted and underscores the need to carefully consider the factors described in the FMP in setting the ER (exploitation rate). Given the extremely low abundance forecast and resulting low level of allowable fishing mortality, NMFS anticipates harvest opportunity will be substantially constrained in the region between Cape Falcon, Oregon, and Point Sur, California.” Oregon fisheries typically intercept these stocks throughout the entire area to the South of Cape Falcon, and these stocks are very important contributors to Oregon’s spring and summer fisheries.
Seasons from May 16, 2023 through early May 15, 2024 are currently being developed. Season alternatives will be reviewed, and a final season recommendation will be made at the April Pacific Fishery Management Council public meeting. Interested members of the public should visit www.pcouncil.org for information on how to participate in the April meeting.
March 9, 2023 RECREATIONAL TROLL SALMON ACTION NOTICE (2 of 2): The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the State of Oregon, and the State of California met today via a blended conference call and in person meeting and have taken the following in-season management action related to the scheduled March 15 recreational Chinook salmon openings off Oregon between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mt.:
ACTION TAKEN:
The recreational ocean salmon fishery scheduled to open on March 15 and continue through May 15 in ocean waters between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mt. off Oregon is canceled for 2023.
RATIONALE: Multiple stocks of California Chinook Salmon are at extremely low abundance and are projected to potentially fall below target spawning escapements. Guidance from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for 2023 ocean salmon seasons for Sacramento River fall Chinook was that. Guidance from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for 2023 ocean salmon seasons that include contacts with Sacramento River fall Chinook was that “extraordinary measures are needed in 2023 to address these circumstances and to ensure that fishery management is not a contributing factor.” For Klamath River fall Chinook the NMFS guidance is “that a precautionary approach is warranted and underscores the need to carefully consider the factors described in the FMP in setting the ER (exploitation rate). Given the extremely low abundance forecast and resulting low level of allowable fishing mortality, NMFS anticipates harvest opportunity will be substantially constrained in the region between Cape Falcon, Oregon, and Point Sur, California.” Oregon fisheries typically intercept these stocks throughout the entire area to the South of Cape Falcon, and these stocks are very important contributors to Oregon’s spring and summer fisheries.
Seasons from May 16, 2023 through early May 15, 2024 are currently being developed. Season alternatives will be reviewed, and a final season recommendation will be made at the April Pacific Fishery Management Council public meeting. Interested members of the public should visit www.pcouncil.org for information on how to participate in the April meeting.
OCEAN SALMON INDUSTRY GROUP MEETING NOTICE: The meeting will be held in the OSU Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building on the Hatfield Marine Science Center's campus in Newport, Oregon.
The 2023 Ocean Salmon Industry Group Meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 27, 2023. This meeting will provide a review of the 2022 seasons, take a first look at the 2023 salmon forecasts, and begin the development of Oregon preferred recreational and commercial ocean salmon season concepts via public input to take forward through the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) regulation setting process. The meeting will be held both in person and virtually this year (see details below).
This meeting is open to all ocean sport fishing anglers and charter operators, commercial salmon troll fishers, and any others interested in participating in the development of the 2023 ocean salmon seasons. Staff from ODFW will provide background materials and presentations and then work with meeting attendees to develop preferred season alternatives to use as guidance moving forward through the Pacific Fishery Management Council's season setting process. The meeting is planned to start at 10:00 AM on Monday, February 27. It is recommended that participants attending on-line, test their system prior to the meeting to iron out any technical problems they may have.
There is also an option available to call in by phone. There will be a lunch break between approximately 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM that will also provide participants time to formulate concepts for proposals.
Links to the agenda and briefing materials for the meeting will be posted below as they come available in January and February.
Please visit the PFMC’s website at https://www.pcouncil.org/ for details on their March and April meetings.
For those attending in person, the meeting will be held in the auditorium of the OSU Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building on the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. No food or drink is allowed in the auditorium, so please plan accordingly.
Topic: 2023 Ocean Salmon Industry Group Meeting
Time: Feb 27, 2023; 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 268 947 710 134
Passcode: joBWK2
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 503-446-4951,,920180906# United States, Portland
Phone Conference ID: 920 180 906#
Find a local number | Reset PIN
Meeting Materials: (will be posted here as they come available):
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The Ocean Sampling Project (Ocean Salmon Management Program (OSMP)) monitors ocean commercial and recreational salmon fisheries for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The project collects and analyzes data from Oregon's commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries, including catch and fishing effort, recovers
these and other sources to assist in the develop of management.
The Ocean Sampling Project is made up of two sub-units: The Commercial Troll Salmon Project (CTSP) and the Ocean Recreational Boat Survey (ORBS). ORBS collects the information needed to managed all ocean recreational fisheries, and the CTSP collects the information needed information for managing the ocean commercial troll salmon fishery.
ORBS makes estimates of the ocean recreational catch and effort by boat type (charter and private). Interviews are conducted randomly of ocean boats to generate estimates of catch for both salmon and non-salmon species. All sampled salmon are examined for the presence of a CWT. Additional biological data are collected from salmon and non-salmon species, and anglers are also interviewed regarding released fish species.
The Ocean Sampling Project is staffed by a project leader and an assistant project leader at Newport, and two sampling coordinators; one each at Tillamook and Charleston. The sampling coordinators serve as liaison between field samplers, fishery participants, and program staff at Newport; deliver data and coded wire tags to Newport; and also provide additional sampling when needed. We regularly sample fishery landings at all primary Oregon coastal ports, utilizing approximately 20 to 30 seasonal samplers.
The Ocean Salmon Management Program (OSMP) monitors ocean commercial and recreational salmon fisheries, and conducts ocean and coastal river's investigations for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). The program uses data from these and other sources to develop management recommendations for the best use of Oregon's salmon resources, and to evaluate proposed ocean salmon fishery regulations.
The Ocean Sampling Project collects and analyzes data on Oregon's commercial ocean salmon fishery, including catch and fishing effort, recovers coded wire tags (CWTs), and gathers average weight data from commercial salmon landings.
The Ocean Sampling Project also conducts the Ocean Recreational Boat Survey (ORBS) to estimate effort and catch in the ocean recreational boat fishery. The ORBS estimates total ocean sport effort by boat type (charter and private), and interviews are conducted randomly of ocean boats to generate estimates of catch for both salmon and non-salmon species. All sampled salmon are examined for the presence of a CWT. Additional biological data are collected from salmon and non-salmon species, and anglers are also interviewed regarding released fish species and other specifics about their trip. A description of the ORBS design can be found here.
The OSMP sampling project is staffed by a project leader and an assistant project leader at Newport, and two sampling coordinators; one each at Tillamook and Charleston. The sampling coordinators serve as liaison between field samplers, fishery participants, and program staff at Newport; deliver data and coded wire tags to Newport; and also provide additional sampling when needed. We regularly sample fishery landings at all primary Oregon coastal ports, utilizing approximately 20 to 30 seasonal samplers.
OCEAN TROLL SALMON FISHERY
The commercial salmon troll fishery was developing off the Oregon Coast by the year 1912. By 1919, there were between one and two thousand boats trolling off the mouth of the Columbia River. The State of Oregon began recording troll landings separately from gillnet fisheries in 1925.
Landings of ocean troll caught coho salmon remained relatively stable from 1925 to 1941, with landings between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 pounds (dressed weight: head-on, viscera removed) for most years. From 1942 to 1950 catches remained near 1,000,000 pounds annually, but by 1957 landings had climbed back up to 3,400,000 pounds. The El Niño of 1958-59 resulted in landings dropping back below 1,000,000 pounds or 200,000 fish. During the 1960s and early 1970s, improved hatchery production and rearing techniques, a growing troll fleet, and good ocean survival rates of smolts to adults resulted in record landings that peaked in 1976 with 1,800,000 coho landed. From the mid 1970s and continuing into the 1990s, Oregon's ocean coho fishery has been characterized by continuing poor ocean environmental conditions and poor overall survival, increasing management restrictions, and reduced ocean harvest opportunities. Most recently, ocean conditions have shown improvements, and changes in management approaches for coho salmon have began to provide modest increases in fishing opportunity for recreational anglers.
Although chinook harvest by the Oregon troll fishery has also seen dramatic fluctuations, the long term trend was one of increasing landings. The troll chinook fishery had record harvests in 1987 and 1988. The late 1980s and early 1990s have seen a decline in harvest due to decreases in many stocks, concern for critical natural stocks under both state and federal management and the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), together with increasing allocation conflicts between river and ocean user groups. From 2006-10, there were major declines in first Klamath River fall Chinook and then Sacramento River fall Chinook that resulted in near complete closure of Chinook harvest in several years. By 2012, the situation had done a complete turn around with Sacramento Chinook back to average numbers and the Klamath coming in with a near record abundance.
Historically, coho salmon predominated in the landings, but since the mid-1980's Chinook landings have equaled coho, and in many years made up the majority of the catch. This is primarily due to lower coho survival rates and much higher chinook survival rates and catch in the late 1980s. The commercial troll fishery has not had any significant coho opportunity to the South of Cape Falcon since 1992, and Chinook will predominate in the landings unless coho populations recover substantially to allow directed coho fisheries to resume coast wide.
Entry into the troll fishery was unrestricted until 1980 when a permit moratorium was adopted. Although 4,311 vessels already had Oregon troll permits, a goal of 2,400 vessels licensed to troll for salmon in Oregon was established. At the request of the troll industry, the Legislature reduced the permit cap to 1,800 then to 1,200 and finally to 1,000. In 2012, the permit cap was eliminated, but no means to re-issue permits was provided. This will result in a continued slow decline in the number of permits in the fishery. In most recent years, approximately 40-60% of the issued permits have actually fished in any given season.
OCEAN RECREATIONAL SALMON FISHERY
Oregon's ocean recreational salmon fishery originated with boats fishing in the bays on stocks returning to freshwater in the fall. A few boats would venture out into the ocean on favorable days. The late 1940s and early 1950s marked the beginning of increasing effort by both the charter and private boat fleet in the ocean. Better and safer equipment plus the development of small boat basins and launching ramps and other support facilities in many coastal towns encouraged ocean fishing.
The primary targeted species of the Oregon recreational fleet has traditionally been coho salmon with chinook a distant second. The fishery has been sampled by ODFW's Ocean Salmon Management Program since the early 1960s. Ocean creel data was supplemented by salmon/steelhead tag license data through the 1980 season. An extensive statistical creel data collection program began in 1979, and that data has been the sole source since 1981.
The peak catch and effort year was 1976 when 538,400 angler trips resulted in a catch of 79,300 chinook and 501,300 coho. The daily bag limit in 1976 was 3 salmon and the season lasted from April 10 to December 31. In 1996, the seasons and catch quotas were very limited; and resulted in an ocean catch of only 11,210 chinook and 7,176 coho from 43,962 salmon angler trips.
Beginning in 1994, Oregon's ocean recreational fishery was limited to chinook salmon. In 1998, the first selective hatchery coho (fin-clipped) fisheries were authorized off Oregon. These selective fisheries have allowed limited, but successful, targeted coho salmon fisheries to resume. In 2011, small scale non-selective coho seasons were opened along the Central Coast in September. A result of strong recovery of the Oregon Coastal Natural (OCN) coho; this opportunity in September has proven to be an effective management option to target the abundant OCN coho while limiting fishery impacts on other coho populations of concern. These September seasons have also been very popular with the angling public.
Contact:
Eric Schindler - Project Leader
E-mail: Eric.D.Schindler@odfw.oregon.gov
Justine Kenyon-Benson - Assistant Project Leader
E-mail: Justine.Kenyon-Benson@odfw.oregon.gov
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
2040 SE Marine Science Drive
Newport, Oregon 97365
(541) 867-4741
Link to salmon identification guide
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