KENNEWICK, Wash. — Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife is closing the fall chinook salmon season on the Hanford Reach at midnight Wednesday because of a higher than expected harvest.

The Tri-City Herald reports that fishing on the Columbia River from the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco to Priest Rapids is being closed eight days early because of concerns that fewer adult chinook will be left to spawn. The department says this year's harvest already has surpassed the 2008 catch by 40 percent.

As of Sunday, an estimated 27,000 adult chinooks at the reach were expected be able to spawn, below the natural spawning goal of 28,800.