We've got colder water this year with lots of nutrients for the fish. The general public may still have reservations about consuming local salmon. After all, there has been much publicity about troubled species, many of which have been federally listed as threatened or endangered. The industry has been concerned for the last couple of years about the market impact due to that public perception. Fishermen want Oregonians to know that they, too, want to protect imperiled stocks.
Fishermen go to great lengths to avoid impacting imperiled stocks of salmon.
First of all, the opening of the chinook season is timed so that other types of salmon aren't even around. Other measures taken later in the season greatly reduce the possibility of affecting stocks of concern. Those measures include the use of barbless hooks, the use of gear that doesn't attract coho in the first place, and going far enough offshore and deep enough underwater to avoid catching the wrong fish. That forces us to target the chinook salmon. Most non-target fish are released unharmed.