Rejecting pleas from sportsmen, Washington and Oregon officials have decided to allow gillnetting for summer chinook in most of the lower Columbia River starting on June 17, just two days after recreational fishing opens.

The Columbia River Compact on Thursday adopted two commercial periods from 7 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. June 18 upstream to the Interstate 205 Bridge and 7 p.m. June 22 to 5 a.m. June 23 from the ocean to Beacon Rock.

John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the commercial fleet is projected to catch 2,000 to 2,500 summer chinook in the first period and 1,200 to 1,800 in the second.

The sport and commercial sides on the lower Columbia River each get a harvest of 5,450 summer chinook from a run predicted to be 88,800, the best since 2002.

Sport fishing for summer chinook opens Wednesday, the first salmon fishing in the lower Columbia since spring chinook season closed on April 18.

This year only fin-clipped, hatchery-origin chinook can be
..... http://tdn.com/lifestyles/article_2331b5d0-7510-11df-a24f-001cc4c03286.html

"Share"... headline should be

"Commericals increase allocation and school sports-fishing member groups in political influence over summer chinook with 50/50 split"

What a giant political win for the commericals who have 1/10 the numbers of the sports yet INCREASED their allocation % split over the springer run.. Looks like all the CCA and NSIA (and its the memebers) AGAIN got schooled on political influence buy 200 gillnetters.. byt the way your yearly dues are outstanding... please send in those checks..comedy.

For all you about to flame me.. here's my suggestion.. instead of spending a dime to the NSIA or CCA.. pick a canidate in the up-coming election.. let him know your money comes with a request -i.e .. end gillnetting - change the allocaiton process - elect you to the comission board.. thats got to d more good than what your spending your time on now..

How about everyone tow their boat to salem during the enivatable special session up coming park out front of the chambers with a sign.. since we cant fish.. well just park here (why has'nt either of the "Groups" thought of this yet?)


joshua

This is wrong on so many levels.

We, sportfishers, are paying a selective harvest tax to fish the CR and tributaries.
Yet WDFW,Region Five, allows the most harmful, least sustainable method of commercial harvest on the mainstem.

This is before sportfishers even have a weekend of opportunity.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/OSCRP/CRM/FS/10/10_06_10sf1.pdf



Is what I heard true? Above Priest Rapids the fishery reverts back to a non-selective fishery on the Summers, so non tribal and tribal commercial and upper columbia sport are all fishing non selective and just lower and mid columbia sport are..

regs say 3 adult only 1 wild. Why not the eastern wa people get screwd every time the lower C goes over their quota on springers. I am sure they would like you to come over and infuse a little money into their local economy.

No Beef here with the up river gangs just trying to work some numbers off the fact sheet..No way it could ever become a 100% S/C mark selective fishery from what I'm looking at..

"I'd respect them (sportsmen) if they'd just say they want us off the river," said Darren Crookshanks, president of the Columbia River Fisheries Protective Union, a commercial group.

i think you guys should be off the river and let the tribes supply the publics fish

Seems to be happening now but after reading the net removal thread I don't think its going to fix much.

i think you guys should be off the river and let the tribes supply the publics fish . Yep, get used to the safe areas Darrin C. We`ll work out something on the smolt release down there. Good luck. Hope you get to try your ideas on the predator control, show us how it`s done with a 10% RETURN ON THE SMOLTS. Bill

Harvest Management folks are to busy getting worked up over numbers. They are ill equiped to see anything beyond commercial harvest IMHO.

Sportfishing has been my therapy since my military mishap.
HM are just birth control poster children, the best part of them ran down thier' Momma's legs.

I plan to outlast the bass turds. Volunteer to teach local youth about habitat and the importance of wild fishes.
One of these fifth graders might grow up to be a Senator, or even President. Who knows?

they cant move all the smolts down there.

Absolutely not all the smolts. I believe we have PLENTY of rearing capacity though to shift them a few more. That 8.95$ I paid this year would help to feed a few. As stated I`d really like to see these commercials take more of a leading role in determining their returns. Whether this means predator control or smolt supplement is up to them, again, show us how it`s done commercial guys{in the safe areas}. Bill

i need some expertiese here .. but dont the commericals actually pay for and run the Hatcheries n the Keani.. or perhaps ??

anyone anyone..

the gillnetters could never afford to fund the select area`s on the columbia but they do kick in about 40k or so, BPA is where the major money comes from and it`s in the millions.

Wonder how they'll do with the higher water... CR is flat cooking!! But then again, it should start dropping soon... I think they're a little light on their catch estimates considering the run peaks in the lower river around the 18th of June on most years....

Keith

Yup, I believe the commercial contribution is like 1-2% of the cost.

The rate paying public funds the greater costs. It would be nice to see an equitable sharing arangement.

The LCR gillnet fishery is a welfare program where everyone in the region gets to pay to maintain a "hobby" commercial gillnet fishery for an obsolete few. Who doesn't understand that?

Sg

Funny( sad), how they want to go in before the treaty tribes to get maximun dollars.

The troll fleet was shut down along the coast, close to 150K is my understanding. Looks to me like the commecial provision has been met before allowing the gillnets?

The other half of that is --

When BPA/Northwest Power Planning & CONSERVATION Council proposed to fund the new and expanded Terminal Areas (the gillnetters and Clatsop Co Economic Development already had the Youngs Bay facility) to the tune of about 95%, the intent was to get the gillnets off the weak stocks entirely.

The DFW's have allowed, indeed directly enabled, the terminal areas to morph from conservation to augmentation.

It's a huge direct subsidy and the public is not getting the benefit that was planned.

i understand that 100 percent but what i dont understand is people wanting the gillnetters to change over to a selective method so they can take more fish, besides being stupid those people have zero common sense.