State predicting larger salmon runs

PASCO — Fishermen can expect more Coho, Chinook and sockeye salmon to return to the Columbia River and its tributaries this season.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s forecast is based on environmental indicators such as ocean conditions, numbers of juvenile salmon that migrated to marine waters and numbers of adult salmon that returned in past years.

About 84,800 Upper Columbia River summer Chinook are forecasted to return in 2023, representing about 120 percent of the 10-year average return and higher than last year’s 78,500 fish.

The total return of fall Chinook to the Columbia Riv...