Meanwhile, surprise sweeps of fishers in the Columbia Basin began in October. Fisheries agents and law enforcement officers from Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Columbia River Indian tribes used aircraft, boats and land vehicles to make unannounced inspections of fishing parties.

During a three-day sweep, the agents contacted 250 fishers and issued 12 citations for various violations. No illegal fish were discovered, but state and tribal officials estimate that 50,000 to 250,000 of the adult salmon migrating up the Columbia are caught illegally each year.

That is between 2 percent and 10 percent of all the salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake system.

"There are enforcement needs from one end of the river to the other," said Lieutenant Andy Meriweather, lower Columbia en- forcement chief for the Washington Department of Fisheries. "Primarily, poaching has a commercial aspect, but it can be done
by either sport or commercial fishermen."

Meriweather said fall probably is the heaviest poaching season because there are plenty of salmon in the rivers, and the eggs of adult females can be sold for a good price. Poachers often leave behind the flesh of adult spawners, he said. In the spring, it's just the opposite. The firmer flesh of spring adults means a good market for whole fish.

"In the past, we've had big operations in which we have recovered tons of fish," Meriweather recalled. "In fact, whenever we have initiated an operation, we've always been able to buy out-ofseason fish."