Officials are halting fishing on the Columbia River in Tri-City area where sockeye salmon are waiting while Yakima River waters cool down enough for them to move upstream.
The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that as of Monday, any sockeye or summer chinook salmon must be released if they are caught in the Columbia River in the Tri-City area, starting at the blue bridge between Kennewick and Pasco upstream to the Interstate 182 bridge between Richland and Pasco.
Starting Aug. 16, sockeye also cannot be kept upriver to Priest Rapids Dam.
The Tri-City Herald reports that temperatures in the Yakima River near Prosser reached more than 80 degrees in July.
Biologists say the salmon may stay in the Columbia River until temperatures in the Yakima River cool down to at least 73 degrees.
