About CCRMP
The primary objective of the Coastal Chinook Research and Monitoring Program (CCRMP) is to produce non-biased escapement estimates of Chinook Salmon with measured precision for Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) and Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) harvest management purposes. Our efforts help fulfill Oregon’s commitment to the PST and estimate run sizes to provide accurate information to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) as well as other fisheries managers and anglers. We conduct research to generate more precise estimates of coastal harvest and spawner abundance, understand in-river straying, and document how changing regulations impact harvest across basins coastwide.
The Coastal Chinook Research and Monitoring Program (CCRMP) works across the Oregon Coast, from the Necanicum Basin in the north to the Elk River in the south. Click the icons to learn more about what kind of work we are doing where.
In March 1985, the United States and Canada ratified the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST), agreeing to cooperate in management, research, and enhancement of Pacific salmon stocks of mutual concern. The PST was written with the intent to protect and manage salmon stocks that originate in one country and are subject to harvest in another country. The agreement establishes abundance-based management regimes based on run strength for the major salmon fisheries in the United States and Canada. The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) is the authority responsible for implementing the PST and serves as a forum for cooperation and management of shared resources among the members. The goals of the PSC are to achieve optimum production of all species of Pacific salmon via conservation and management measures, and to share harvests so each country reaps the benefits of its management investment. The PSC also serves as a forum for consultation between members on their salmonid enhancement operations, monitoring and research programs.
The Chinook chapter of the Treaty signed in 1999 amended the PST from a fixed-ceiling harvest management strategy to a coast-wide, aggregate abundance-based management (AABM) and individual stock-based management (ISBM) approaches. The Chinook chapter of the PST has been renegotiated and re-signed in both 2009 and 2019, both times preserving AABM and ISBM management regimes. It outlines management measures intended to sustain natural populations of Chinook Salmon stocks while maintaining fisheries benefits for both U.S. and Canadian groups, with allocation agreed between the members. The intent was to allow everyone to cooperatively manage their respective fisheries, sustain healthy stocks, and rebuild stocks that have yet to achieve robust, biologically-based escapement objectives. This fundamental PST management approach provides the opportunity to equitably distribute the conservation responsibility between the two countries, attain escapement objectives for shared salmon stocks, and ultimately sustain fisheries.
Each year, CCRMP submits research and monitoring proposals to the PSC designed to meet specific objectives and priorities to improve the management of Chinook Salmon under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.