Coho salmon

Adult coho salmon spawning in the Tillamook State Forest.

(Oregon Department of Forestry)

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Regional fishery managers are considering the rare step of closing recreational and commercial salmon fishing off the coast of Washington and northern Oregon this summer due to a low number of returning coho salmon.

Butch Smith, owner of Coho Charters in Ilwaco, Washington, said a no-fishing option would be devastating to coastal communities, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

"Fishing is our lifeblood," he said. "Fishing is our Boeing and our Microsoft."

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is eyeing the shutdown as one of three alternatives as it sets fishing seasons off the Pacific coast. Two other options released Monday would permit some salmon fishing.

The last time salmon fishing was closed in the waters was 1994. It was severely curtailed in 2008.

The current proposal would close recreational and commercial non-tribal ocean fishing for chinook and coho salmon north of Cape Falcon, near Manzanita, Oregon.

The council will make its decision at its April meeting in Vancouver, Washington, and forward its recommendation to a federal agency for final approval before May 1.

"We know that severely limiting opportunities will hurt many families and communities that depend on these fisheries," Jim Unsworth, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement. "But conserving wild salmon is our top priority."

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, which represents treaty tribes in western Washington, is asking the council to consider closing all coho fishing in the ocean this year due to expected low runs.

"I hope it doesn't come to that, but we must consider it as an option," Lorraine Loomis, the commission's chair, said in a statement.

Chuck Custer, who operates a charter boat, told The News Tribune that a closure would affect about 40 charter boats operating out of Westport, Washington.

"When the salmon season is going, the town is going full tilt. (A closure) affects everybody, not just the charter boats. The restaurants and hotels need the fishermen," he said.

A public hearing on the three coastal salmon fishing alternatives is scheduled for March 28 in Westport.

State fish and wildlife officials say forecasters expect 380,000 Columbia River hatchery coho to return to the Washington coast. That's about half of last year's forecast.

Only 242,000 coho actually returned last year to the Columbia River. Warmer ocean temperatures contributed to last year's lower than expected return.

--The Associated Press