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BOISE, Idaho — More than 1,100 sea lions could be killed annually along a stretch of the Columbia River on the Oregon-Washington border to boost faltering populations of salmon and steelhead, federal officials said Friday. The National Marine Fisheries Service said it’s taking public comments through Oct. 29 on the plan requested by Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Native American tribes. The agency says billions of dollars on habitat restoration, fish passage at dams and other efforts have been spent in the three states in the last several decades to save 13 species of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead protected under...

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — The 700-pound sea lion blinked in the sun, sniffed the sea air and then lazily shifted to the edge of the truck bed and plopped onto the beach below. Freed from the cage that carried him to the ocean, the massive marine mammal shuffled into the surf, looked left, looked right and then started swimming north as a collective groan went up from wildlife officials who watched from the shore. After two days spent trapping and relocating the animal designated #U253, he was headed back to where he started — an Oregon river 130 miles (209...

The House Still Stands: Hardy’s of Alnwick Nov 9th, 2015 | Categories: Al James, England, Fishing | by Al James Hardy “The Perfect” It’s steelhead and salmon season out West from Northern California up to B.C. and Alaska. The trout gear has been stashed in the closet until next May and we’re breaking out the heavy duty rods and reels in search of finicky anadromous fish. While modern, freight train-stopping disc drags are popular, (Hatch, Nautilus, Tibor, Abel, Ross) many two-hand enthusiasts prefer to outfit their spey rods with a simple click and pawl Hardy reel. This mechanism doesn’t offer...

A catastrophic landslide 22,500 years ago dammed the upper reaches of northern California's Eel River, forming a 30-mile-long lake, which has since disappeared, and leaving a living legacy found today in the genes of the region's steelhead trout...about 60 miles southeast of Eureka. The river today is 200 miles long, carved into the ground from high in the California Coast Ranges to its mouth in the Pacific Ocean in Humboldt County. The evidence for the ancient landslide, which, scientists say, blocked the river with a 400-foot wall of loose rock and debris ... "Perhaps of most interest, the presence of...

Cal-DOT is planning to spend $935,000 to cement part of Blocker Beach to create a channel for steelhead. This is to 'help' the fish get to the SantA Monica Mtns for spawning. This is a paraphrase, due to AP-FR agreements; follow the link to read the actual story.

DAVENPORT — Almost two months after a dozen fish were killed at a Davenport hatchery, federal investigators are looking for a break in the case. NOAA Fisheries investigators are offering $5,000 for information about the mid-March killing of the steelhead at the hatchery operated by the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project "If we crack it, it will be because of public input," NOAA Fisheries Agent Joe Giordano. "We just haven’t had much luck." Investigators said a freshwater tank had been tainted with chlorine. The dead fish were discovered during a routine check of the tank. Steelhead in Central California...

Davenport’s battered barn to stay just that Sierra Club court victory ends plan for wine and cheese shopBy GENEVIEVE BOOKWALTERSENTINEL STAFF WRITERDAVENPORT — David Luers had a dream: Buy the dilapidated barn off Highway 1, demolish it and build a wine and cheese shop he’d run with his wife. Santa Cruz County officials approved the plan, as did the state Coastal Commission.But nine years after buying the abandoned structure at Highway 1, Old Coast Road and Davenport Avenue, Luers is living in Idaho, where he’s running a gift shop and wondering how he can unload the property.Earlier this month, a...

BONNEVILLE DAM - The fall chinook run at the Bonneville Dam was so large last week that some fish were crushed to death on the concrete fish ladders. Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, more than 40,000 fall chinook fought their way over the dam. On Sunday, 39,642 climbed the ladders there. All four days surpassed the previous one-day record of 39,376 fall chinook set Sept. 12, 1987. The new high mark was recorded last Thursday, with 45,884 fish. ``I don't think the fish ladders were built to have 46,000 chinook and a bunch of steelhead and a bunch of coho...

Requirement mandates CPR for fishThursday, April 4, 2002, By ANDREW KRAMER, Associated Press Writer ASTORIA, Ore. -- Ab Ihander isn't thrilled about throwing back the 20-pound spring chinook salmon he's just pulled into his boat with his tangle net. But the law says he must; it's a wild salmon, not hatchery-bred. Before he can return the salmon to the Columbia River, however, he revives it with a sort of CPR for fish. He lowers the salmon into a tank with pipes inside. A small Honda pump starts up, and oxygen-rich river water is circulated over the salmon's gills and mouth....