SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A recent die-off of fall Chinook salmon has expanded from the Wilson River to three other river basins, leading to a total closure on fall chinook fishing on Oregon’s north coast, wildlife officials said.
The Statesman Journal reports salmon killed before they were able to spawn by the parasite cryptobia has been observed in the Nestucca, Trask and Kilchis rivers near Tillamook in the past week.
To help the remaining chinook spawn, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials on Wednesday closed the entire North Coast to all salmon angling effective Dec. 13 to 31.
The closure includes all basins from the Nestucca to the Necanicum rivers, including bays.
Robert Bradley, district fish biologist for ODFW’s North Coast Watershed District blamed the abnormally dry conditions in Oregon for the spread of the parasite, which has caused fish deaths in the past but never on this scale, he said.
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