OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The lower Columbia River will remain closed to steelhead fishing until further notice to avoid the incidental catch of protected spring chinook salmon.

Monday's announcement effectively delays the fishery for hatchery steelhead that was scheduled to open May 16 from the Interstate 5 Bridge downriver to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line, a few miles east of Astoria, Ore.

Cindy LeFleur, of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, says the steelhead closure could extend as late as June 15, unless returns of upriver spring chinook begin to pick up.

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