Guides, manufacturers and retailers attended the annual NSIA Run Forecast Meeting last week.
The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association held its annual run forecast meeting Thursday, December 12 and officials from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife all agree that 2014 should be a great year for fishing.
Preliminary forecasts for 227,000 Upriver Spring Chinook run will nearly double the 2013 returns of 123,100 fish. Officials say that projection would make it the fifth highest return of these fish in the last 34 years.
The news was also good for the Bright Fall Chinook, with fish mangers expecting to see the same number of adult returns as we saw in 2013, or approximately 555,400 fish. This would was nearly twice what was predicted and the second highest number of Jacks returned since the 1985 and ’86 seasons. Managers from the three states suggested that the fall Chinook returns could be as large as 2013, and we can expect to see a strong showing of 4 year olds.
The predictions for the number of Sockeye and Coho are also up, according to state officials.
“2014 is looking to be the best year yet,” said NSIA Executive Director Liz Hamilton. “With our increased allocation and more fish entering the system, this is great news for the sport fishing industry. NSIA has worked hard over the past several years to make gains for our industry and numbers like these show that what we are doing is working.”
The NSIA holds this meeting annually to help retailers, guides and manufacturers plan for the upcoming season. The predictions can lead to more retail sales, more guided trips and more people purchasing everything from tackle to boats. In Oregon and Washington sportfishing is responsible for more than $3 billion in economic benefits, over 27,000 jobs and $1 billion in salaries and wages.
State officials have not yet set the seasons for these fisheries and we will share that information as soon as we get it. Stay involved and stay tuned!
For more information contact Liz Hamilton at 503.631.8859 or nsializ@aol.com.