The "Biological Assessment of Incidental Impacts on Winter Steelhead Listed Under the Endangered Species Act in Non-Indian Mainstem Columbia River Fisheries..."

That is the 26 page pleading put together by WDFW and ODFW and sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service in an attempt to increase the allowable mortality of ESA listed steelhead from 2% to 7%.

The long paper is full of graphs and evidence pleading the case that the commercial netters should be allowed to kill three times the current allowable level of ESA listed steelhead. Here is the final paragraph:

"In conclusion, the NMFS should approve the states request to manage non-Indian fisheries targeting spring chinook in the mainstem Columbia River below Bonneville Dam for a management guideline of 5% with impacts not to exceed 7% on wild winter steelhead. Additionally, the states recommend that the NMFS 1) fund and/or support efforts by the states to determine long-term mortality rates for winter steelhead released in the commercial tangle net fishery, and 2) support the states efforts to provide for meaningful commercial fishing opportunity in concert with the ESA guidelines to minimize mortality of listed salmonids, by supporting the tangle net fishery as it unfolds and as new information becomes available."

So bottom line is NMFS is supposed to allow a tripling of the mortality on ESA listed steelhead so the tangle net fishery can continue so WDFW and ODFW can see what unfolds....Well we already know what has already unfolded. Too many ESA listed steelhead are killed in nets....period. No need for a 26 page pleading trying to prove that it is ok to kill so many ESA listed fish. We already know that the tangle nets do not protect those fish...They just don't.
This blatant advocacy paper for the commercial fishing industry only goes to prove the commercial bias in WDFW and ODFW and further advances the distrust the sports fishing community has for those departments. I have to say it is really interesting to read through this document and see to what lengths the staff at WDFW and ODFW have gone to try to make a case for killing more ESA listed fish. They have done it for a tiny minority of the fishers in the two states and they have done it in the shadows. Now they are exposed and I understand that they are pushing this proposal full speed ahead. I suspect that the document cost a pretty penny to research and produce. Money spent from tight budgets to lobby for the commercial interests.

So many people are spending so much time and money to save these fish it is curious that the stewards of our fisheries would be doing their best to do the opposite. They have some explaining to do.