FISHING -- Through October, anglers are required to release chinook salmon that had been sedated for research and marked with a ¼-inch round hole punched in the upper lobe of the tail fin.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says fall chinook salmon are being sedated in a chemical anesthetic, MS-222, during sampling at the Priest Rapids Dam.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires a 21-day withdrawal period before human consumption of fish anesthetized in MS-222. The dates the fish must be released are Sept. 15-Oct. 31.

The rule applies to all fall chinook, hatchery and wild showing the punch in the Columbia River from the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco to Chief Joseph Dam.

Salmon marked and released at Priest Rapids Dam may be caught in fisheries both upstream and downstream.