I hope to make SAVE MY FISH more than just a site about Salmon and Steelhead. So lets start with some early activist stuff I have been involved with in the past.
The following article I wrote with my own research and input from other anglers was faxed to then Governor Kitzhaber office 134 times before he responded.
DEAD STURGEON TELL NO TALES
Over the past years, I have voiced my concerns to everyone from friends, other fishermen, the Governor of Oregon and upper management at the Oregon & Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (collectively the DFWs’) about the management of the sturgeon in the Columbia River. I have gotten nowhere. While unlike many sportsmen, I do not question the competence of the DFWs management staff. I do not think they should be taken out and horse whipped. I have read much of the documentation from the research projects they have completed. I feel that they truly do have our sturgeon's welfare at the center of the ongoing debate, yet I feel that they are in a political "Catch 22" between sportsman and the commercial industry.
However, are we willing to "gamble" the fate of our fishery based on the conflicting, non-conclusive data reported and continue to allow a commercial gill net fishery and over harvesting to continue? It is my concern that the increased harvesting and the commercial sturgeon fishery will continue at the maximum level possible and that it is weighted far to the right on the short-term economic side of the equation with little concern about conservation. I hope that I am wrong because DEAD STURGEON TELL NO TALES!
1.0 Changes in the Commercial Fishery
I do not agree with the current commercial harvesting method and allocation of sturgeon in the Columbia River. The DFWs’ have dramatically restricted the Sportsmen’s angling opportunities and yet potentially threaten the current population of fish by over harvesting. The changes over the past years have resulted in shortened seasons, tighter slot limits, lowered daily and annual bag limits in addition to a catch and release season. More restrictions are being proposed. I completely support these steps if this is what is required to manage the fishery. While I personally practice and encourage a catch and release policy in my boat, I respect any individual’s right, based on current daily and annual bag regulations, to retain their catch for table fare.
However, the changes in the Sport regulations were not to manage the fishery but to divert 20% of the theoretical maximum harvest to support a commercial gill net season. The joint DFWs’ have increased the incidental commercial catch (fish caught by accident) of about 6,000 sturgeons during the salmon gillnet season in 1995, to a perpetual "target" season starting in 1997. This "target" season is set at 20% of the maximum harvest of 66,900 fish giving the commercial fishery a "quota" of 13,380 fish (>200% increase). However, in 1993 the DFW's concluded that a combined sport and commercial catch of only 30,000 fish could be maintained. What data supports doubling the harvest rate? Furthermore, in 1996, Dr. de Hart, of the ODFW assured me, that sturgeon would never become a target fish for a commercial fishery.
The ODFW has cited ORS 506.109 as their mandate from the legislature to cooperate with Washington to allot 20% of the available sturgeon to be harvested by the commercial fishery. Now ORS.506.109, written in 1975, is vague and states nothing pertaining to a percentage that should be allotted to a commercial harvest. The ORS in part states that "It is the policy of the of the State of Oregon that food fish shall be managed to provide optimum economic, commercial, recreational and aesthetic benefits for the present and future generations of the state".
It would seem that this piece of legislation could be interpreted anyway one desire, even to allocate a limited resource to the commercial fishery. It is my opinion that the DFW's have buckled under lobbying from the commercial fishing industry to create a targeted, commercial gill net season for sturgeon benefiting only a "select few" of the citizens and at the same time having a negative impact on the majority. Is this what the legislative process intended? The economic, aesthetic and recreational value far outweigh any commercial value. One can only wonder whether 1 or 2 select members of the state legislature find that the desires of a commercial fishing lobby outweigh the interests of the general public, to say nothing of the best interest of the resource!
2.0 Mortality Rate
The implementation of a commercial harvest has taken place with no environmental impact studies having been completed concerning the mortality rate (kill ratio) for undersized fish (<48") and oversized fish (>66") which must be released when captured in a gill net. I have in fact had discussions with commercial gill-netters who argued for the increase in the incidental catch in 1995 and 1996 because they felt that they should be allowed to retain and sell the incidental catch rather than discard it and waste the fish. In other words, they can NOT successfully release gill net caught fish. So what about those sturgeons that are outside the commercial slot less than 48" and over 66"? By the commercials own rationale, these over and undersize fish are dead. In a conversation with a state agent 2 years ago at an Astoria boat ramp, I was told that many undersize sturgeons are "released" by cutting off their tails and letting them drop through the net. Now there is a conservation method that needs to be studied! He further told me "you should see all the undersize dead sturgeon up in the islands with no tails".
The Columbia River is one of the last places in the world where commercial fishing for sturgeon by any method is still being allowed. THE SOLE PURPOSE OF A GILL NET IS TO CAPTURE AND INCAPACITATE A FISH BY ENTANGLING THEIR GILL PLATE AND GILLS IN THE NET, HOLDING THEM UNTIL THE NET IS RETRIEVED. The net was designed to harvest all fish and is not selective in determining size or species.
I have been told by the DFWs’ that no one knows how many undersized and oversized fish are being captured and killed by the nets. The attempts, which have been made to study the problem, have not been conclusive due to the fact that "most of the fish die within a few days when held captive". Baloney! Sturgeons have been successfully "held captive" for years at the Bonneville and Roaring River Fish Hatchery's. What's the difference? They were caught with a setline and not a gill net. When the gills are entangled in the net and not allowed to move naturally, the fish cannot breath, the nylon nets cut through the delicate gill flesh as the fish struggles to get free. The gill net causes physical stress, un-repairable damage to the fish due to the lack of oxygen and subsequent infections. However, the DFWs’ have concluded, "we think most of the fish swim away after they are released". The operational word here is "think". I offer that fisheries policies should be set by what we KNOW, and not what we think! This should be of paramount importance when dealing with a resource that grows slowly, and is not sexually mature until approximately 15 years of age!
In 1999 a "ghost net" was pulled from the Columbia near Sand Island (Astoria). A total of 40 Sturgeons were in the net, 23 dead and 17 alive (>50% were already dead). Media videotape of the incident is available upon request. How many of the fish released died later due to physical injury and infection after being entangled in a gill net? We do not know.
3.0 Flawed Sampling to determine population (location)
The current quotas were based on what I believe to be flawed sampling and data collection errors to determine the sturgeon population in the Columbia River. The current estimated sturgeon population of 1 million fish was apparently based on data collected in 1993 from the lower 10 miles of the river and not the entire 150 miles below Bonneville Dam.
4.0 Flawed Sampling to determine population (time of year)
In addition to the potential data collection issue stated in 3.0, the sampling occurred in early summer in the lower 10 miles of the Columbia River. Even the novice angler has figured out that the Columbia River sturgeon migrate to the estuary during the summer months to feed and thus a disproportionate number of fish, especially "keeper fish" are present in the lower river when compared to the other 140 miles of river.
5.0 Washington gill net fishery
In addition to the Columbia River commercial harvest, the DFW's have failed to include the commercial harvest of sturgeon from Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor and the Chehalis River on the Southern Washington Coast in their total harvest figures. Biologists point out that sturgeons are a migratory fish. Fish tagged in the Columbia have been caught in almost every river and estuary from San Francisco to the Frazier River BC. Thus these fish should also be included in the commercial harvest numbers, they are not resident fish, and they are transient from the Columbia River. Could you imagine a commercial gill net season in Tillamook Bay!
6.0 Decreased Salmon Harvest
It is my personal conclusion that one of the reasons the DFWs’ increased the commercial sturgeon fishery quotas was the political pressure to economically offset the decline in salmon available for harvest. There are many reasons for the decline of the Columbia River fishery including the dams, logging, livestock grazing in the watersheds and over-harvesting by commercial and sport fishing. It may be too late and too expensive to fix many of these problems as they relate to the current condition of the salmon fishery. However allowing gill nets to harvest a limited resource with unknown long-term impacts must be curtailed. We must not let the DFWs’ continue to increase or continue the commercial gill net harvest of any remaining resource, including sturgeon.
7.0 Economic Impact
Purely from an economic standpoint, I suggest that the DFWs’ and politicians should be in support of the dollars spent on sport fishing and not the limited revenue from commercial gill netting for sturgeon. Sport fishing in the northwest is a multi-billion dollar industry. A recent article printed in the Oregonian states that revenue from sport fishing has experienced a "36% increase over the past 5 years" with 1.4 billion in annual revenue from Washington and 1.2 billion in Oregon. No estimate from the commercial industry, specific to the revenue generated from the Columbia Sturgeon fishery is available.
However, we can do a little math and estimate the "potential revenue" for them. In the year 2000 commercial season 10,500 fish were reportedly taken from the river. Information from the ODFW shows that the "average" weight of a commercial caught sturgeon is about 25 pounds thus approximately 262,500 pounds of sturgeon was harvested by commercial gill nets. A sampling of the price paid to the commercial fishermen from the registered fish buyers (provided by the ODFW) shows that the going price was about $1.35 per pound at the dock. Thus the commercial gill net fishery "netted" approximately $343,375.00 in revenue (10,500 fish X 25 pounds X $1.35). Between Oregon and Washington, 2.6 billion were spent on sport fishing. You do the math. I suggest that we pay the gill net fisherman the 350k out of the DFW's annual budget and get them off the water.
There are a hand full of gill-netters and more than 500,000 fishermen in Oregon and Washington who purchase a sturgeon tag each year, yet a strong political lobby does not represent them.
8.0 Food chain in an Ecosystem
The Columbia River is a unique ecosystem. The magnificent sturgeon is part of that system. The DFW's represent that the population of Columbia River sturgeon is stable. As with any ecosystem, one of it's most and fundamental components for its survival is the food chain. The Columbia River sturgeon utilizes food sources both indigenous and introduced. Both are of vital importance. The staples of fresh water clams, salmon, lamprey eels, smelt, sand shrimp and mud shrimp are examples of indigenous sources. While the populations of clams and shrimp seem to be stable, the numbers of Salmon, Smelt and Eels are at all time lows. The smelt runs collapsed in 1997 due mainly to over harvesting by commercial gill nets. Note: The large fall salmon run of 2000 were primarily hatchery fish, not spawning naturally and thus the carcasses are not available as a food source for sturgeon.
Over the past 100 years, non-indigenous species have been introduced into the ecosystem. Of importance to the sturgeon is shad. Over harvesting is currently being allowed and the nets are now aimed at the shad run to offset the loss of the smelt. These are 2 of the primary food sources for sturgeon in the winter and spring and in my opinion, constitute a major, non-replaceable food source, which has indeed benefited the current population. Remove the food source and you will inflict irreversible damage to the sturgeon population. With the current depleted status of smelt runs, we are already well on the way.
To support the importance of the food source, I submit the following. It appears that there are an increasing number of sturgeons available in many of the estuaries such as Tillamook Bay and Yaquina Bay, especially in the winter months. The growing number of fish being harvested in these areas supports this theory. It is my opinion that there are more fish there because they are being forced out of the Columbia River in the winter months because of the declining food supply due to the collapse of the smelt run which has sustained them.
9.0 Keeper to Shaker Ratio
The DFW's report that approximately 1 million sturgeons between 24" to 15' inhabit the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. They report that 300,000 are "keeper" fish between 42" and 56". This is a 3 to 1 ratio. Thus one would expect that 3 shakers (over or under size) should be caught for every keeper landed. However, data collected by fish counters and validated by any Sportsperson you wish to interview, indicates that a 10 to 1 ratio is more accurate. The validity of the data is thus questioned. If this data is obviously flawed, what other data should be questioned?
10.0 Native American Fishery
The impact and efficacy of the Native American fishery is beyond the scope of my comments. I do not wish to see their treaty rights taken away. I feel that the Native Americans should be allowed a substance and ceremonial fishery just as their forefathers did. However, they should be required to practice their religious rites in the same manner as their forefathers and should not be allowed to use powerboats and gill nets. I do not see a reference to Chief Mercury or Chief Duckworth in any historic documents.
While their fishery for sturgeon is primarily confined to the water above Bonneville Dam, their impact on that region may have negative long-term environmental repercussions. The Boldt Decision (giving the Native Americans 50% of the available harvest) must be reviewed and adjusted to meet today's social, environmental and economic realities.
11.0 What can you do?
Please help! I personally ask for your input to the governors, the ODFW and WDFW. As a concerned citizen you can have an impact. We must stop the commercial gill net season for sturgeon. It is estimated that 10,500 fish were harvested in "the nets" in the 2000 commercial fishery. What is the environmental impact? What is the economic impact? How many have died in the nets? How many fish are being poached by a loosely supervised fishery? We do not know because DEAD STURGEON TELL NO TALES!
Send an e-mail to your DFW. We cannot allow this type of mismanagement to continue. Un-like a presidential ballot, I hope that your input is heard.
Columbia River Smelt to be listed
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/forecasts/smelt/index.htm
Well we all know that smelt are an important Sturgeon bait and essential to their food chain. If you are a Sturgeon fisherman you know about the complete collapse of the Smelt Fishery over the past few years. This article addresses some of the issues.
Of interest to note is that predictor of the Smelt decline based on the biomass decline reported by Canadian Shrimp Fishermen. That means they usually net a lot of Smelt that just gets wasted. I wonder how many hundreds of tons?
Giant Sturgeon jumps 10 feet in slow motion
Nine foot Sturgeon
Tens of thousands of sturgeon are found bunched up below Bonneville Dam
When sonar surveys spotted a vast pile of rubble in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam late last winter, officials suddenly worried that part of the dam structure was eroding into the river.
"Everybody said, 'Oh my gosh, we need to get divers out there right away,' " recalled Dennis Schwartz, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the dam.
What they found below the spillways in February was not a giant pile of rock at all, but a humongous pile of thousands upon thousands of sturgeon -- some of them 14 feet long or longer -- lounging together in frigid water at the bottom of the river.
