Salmo, I believe the point Keith is trying to make is quite simple. No LCR gillnet fishery and hatcheries on the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers will not have to raise/plant those fish that were taken in the gillnet fishery. Seems to me the production numbers would drop on the LCR with no gillnet fishery. Simple suply and Demand.

I certainly don't think that those hatcheries would continue to keep the status quo on plants just for the recreational fisherman?

Where do those hatcheries get their funding?

wntrrn
By mitigation agreement, the Cowlitz hatcheries are funded by Tacoma Power. I don't know about the Lewis.

TBJ
This question has come up many times on the Cowlitz for the coho runs. You have literaly thousands of coho in a small stretch of river from the barrier dam down to Blue Creek with liberal limits yet a very small success ratio by the anglers. For the most part they are non-biters.Probably less than 10% are caught with the majority of these being caught by the people who are using the small black corkies and 8-12 foot leaders. Of course there are exceptions and some years they actually bite quite readily.

Keith,salmo
I can see both sides of this discussion but I would rather see the LCR commercials removed and given opportunities above Bonneville when the count is high enough to permit it.Putting undue pressure on an unknown run size is what has gotten us to where we are now. Destination fisheries make the most sense for endangered runs. Open the tribs to the Columbia as the run goes past each dam with enough escapement for the upriver fisheries to proceed.It may very well be time for the most drastic measures we have seen yet. The future of the fish may very well depend on it.

Wntrrn,

There are two main sources of hatchery funding on the Columbia system. Federal Mitchell Act $$ are to mitigate the effects of the federal dams on the Columbia and Snake. Private and public utilities pay for mitigation hatcheries on those rivers and tributaries: Tacoma Power, PacificCorp, Idaho Power, Grant Co. PUD, Douglas Co. PUD, and Chelan Co. PUD.

Jerry,

Why wouldn't it make sense to fund the hatcheries for recreational fishing? Recreational fishing puts more $$ into the economy per salmon than commercial fishing ever will. In fact it makes more economic sense to fund hatcheries for recreational fishing for that reason alone. And because of the Indian treaties, hatchery funding will continue for the purpose of providing treaty fishing opportunity. The value of the LCR commercial fishery is a small dot on a big screen. And that doesn't even get into the topic of what a detriment it is to fish conservation and ESA recovery.

Sg