Official reply on Chehalis Netting Schedule

(Got this from a buddy of mine)

Thank you for your email to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission
regarding the Chehalis River winter steelhead fishery. A copy of your comments
has been forwarded to each Commission member.

Please see below for further details on this issue.

Nancy Burkhart
Commission Office Assistant


CHEHALIS WINTER STEELHEAD 2004-05 SEASON MANAGEMENT FACTS:

> The 2003-04 wild steelhead run size into the Chehalis system was 18,796.
Since 1982-83, the only run size that came close to this number was in 1986-87
when the run size was 17,554.

> The escapement goal for the Chehalis system is 8,600; the 2003-04 escapement
was 15,825.

> The 2004-05 run size is forecasted to be 13,148, the third highest in 22
years.

> The state/tribal management plan estimates a 2004-05 escapement of 10,909,
assuming a wild fish retention opportunity is not provided to the sport fishery,
which would have an estimated impact of 800 fish.

> The Quinault Indian Nation's (QIN) share of wild steelhead reserved by treaty
with the United States is 2,274; the state/tribal management plan predicts a QIN
harvest of 1,954.

> The model the state and tribal co-managers use to estimate the tribal catch
was updated this year and now uses a catchability coefficient based on the most
recent two-years' actual fishery results.

> The recreational fishery is predicted to harvest 6,757 (6,658 hatchery + 99
wild) fish in 2004-05 absent wild fish retention in the sport fishery. The QIN
fishery is predicted to harvest 3,963 (1,954 wild + 2,009 hatchery) fish.

The tribal fishery schedule encompasses more days than in recent years; however,
it is not predicted to catch more than its share of the harvestable wild fish.
As a result, there is no basis to challenge the schedule that the QIN has
authorized the tribal fishers to fish.

The Commission and Department share your passion for preserving the valuable
resource for this and future generations. We believe that managing this system
using the best science will continue to result in a healthy steelhead resource.

Thank you again for sharing your comments.

For additional information regarding fisheries co-management, please visit the
following web pages:

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/factshts/comgrs.htm

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishcorn.htm

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/tribal/2004-05agreement.pdf

Exact email I believe everyone is getting.

How can this this reply be considered credible when in the same document, the state can't even decide if the sport impact from wild steelhead release is 800 fish or 99 fish?

The way I analyze this is that they are predicting about a 50:50 wild:hatchery return since they are counting on nonselective gillnets to harvest roughly 2000 wild and 2000 hatchery. It's reasonable to assume that the sport catch would fall in similar proportion. If we are projected to harvest 6500 hatchery fish, they probably are counting on us to encounter equal numbers of wild fish that must be released by regulation. If the C&R impact is 99 wild fish, the hooking mortality comes out to 1.5%. If the impact is 800 wild fish, then the hooking mortality comes out to 12.3%. Which is it?

The other thing I fear coming out of the WDFW numbers is justification for more wild harvest on the non-tribal side. This is just plain WRONG! Those "excess" wild steelhead should be invested in seeding the available gravel, not as an increase in sport harvest to appease some perceived inequity in tribal:nontribal allocation.

Two wrongs do not make it right!

If WDFW decides to allow wild retention for sports, that would only drive the total harvest (wild plus hatchery) into further imbalance as sports take an even bigger share of the total harvest. That will have the tribes crying foul and demanding even more netting time in the future.

Sports should NOT get sucked into this ridiculous scheme to allow retention of wild fish in the basin until all sides can honestly lay out what the future repercussions might be.

i think the tribes 3,963 fish take is a very low count.. the nets being in 24hrs 5 days a week they will take a hell of a lot more than that... they way the guy at south aberdeen boat launch is hitting them im sure they are close to it already.. the state is just blowing smoke up our a$$ is all. now if they let us keep a few wild fish or give us a longer season isnt the right way to go about it either.. they need to just cut back on the netting days...