Gillnetting is controversial because the nets kill all fish entangled in them.

The Nez Perce Tribe has opened a commercial season on steelhead in parts of the Snake and Clearwater rivers that could include use of gill nets.

During a conference call with fisheries managers from Idaho, Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the tribe shared its intentions to open five short commercial steelhead seasons this month in which gill nets could be used. Tribal officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Joe Dupont, regional fisheries manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Lewiston said the first of those seasons opened at 6 a.m. Wednesday and will run through Friday.

Other seasons could be between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday through Oct. 16, Oct. 20 to Oct. 23 and Oct. 27 to Oct. 30. However it is not known if the tribe has issued permits to anglers allowing the use of gill nets.

The tribe has allowed gillnetting during each of the past two steelhead runs. Last year and in 2006 tribal anglers used gill nets in December and January and took only a handful of fish each year. But this year gillnetting could occur when more fish are moving through the Snake and Clearwater rivers and when more sport anglers are fishing for steelhead.

This year's steelhead and fall chinook runs are expected to be among the largest in recent decades. By court order, the surplus of hatchery salmon and steelhead is split evenly between tribe and sport anglers. But the tribe has traditionally not taken its share of the steelhead run.

The tribe said a commercial gill-net season would allow it to begin approaching its share of available fish.

But gillnetting is controversial because the nets kill all fish entangled in them, which means wild steelhead and fall chinook protected under the Endangered Species Act are likely to be taken in the fishery.

Sport anglers are required to release all wild salmon and steelhead they catch. But a small number of the wild fish caught during sport fishing seasons die from exhaustion, injury or are illegally taken instead of released.

Idaho has a permit from the federal government that allows anglers licensed by the state to incidentally kill those fish. Once that quota is met, seasons are closed. But that rarely happens during steelhead seasons.

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