The doors slammed last week on the Clearwater River steelhead season as biologists deemed the dismal number of returning adult hatchery fish is less than the number needed for broodstock, leaving no surplus fish for anglers to catch.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission voted Friday to close all fall steelhead seasons on the Clearwater River beginning Sunday.

That means waters upstream to the confluence of the Middle Fork and South Fork, as well as the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork tributaries are closed to steelhead fishing this fall.

The section of the Snake River downstream from the Couse Creek boat ramp to the Idaho and Washington state line will also be closed to protect Clearwater-bound steelhead, Fish and Game said.

The closure comes after a decision in August to restrict the fishery because of poor runs.

Idaho Fish and Game biologist Joe DuPont said this year’s projected returns of fewer than 5,000 fish are the lowest in a decade, and much lower than the last year of poor returns. In 2017, a little more than 10,000 fish returned to the system compared to close to 45,000 fish in 2010 and about 37,000 fish two years ago.

“When I first looked at this data, it was fairly shocking at just how small this year’s return is projected to be in comparison to the previous nine years,” DuPont said.

The number of wild fish projected to return hasn’t been this low since the mid to late 1990s, and the total return projected for the Clearwater this year is similar to the return in the mid 1970s.

Since those historical times, the runs have cycled back including in 2000 when 275,000 steelhead returned to the uppermost Snake River dam, and in 2010 when the run was at about 325,000 fish in the upper Snake.

This season, biologists estimate about 1,158 hatchery steelhead destined for the Clearwater River have passed Bonneville Dam. On average, about half of the hatchery steelhead returning to the Clearwater River would have passed the dam by last week.

In order to meet broodstock needs for Clearwater River hatcheries a total of 1,352 fish would have to be collected, leaving no surplus fish for harvest.

Although the steelhead fishery will be closed in the Clearwater River basin, there will be no changes to the ongoing fall chinook season.

The chinook fishery closes Oct. 13 and a coho salmon fishery in the Clearwater River will run concurrent with the fall Chinook fishery.