Live Compact meeting

[Bill Monroe]

Five minutes to go...few anglers that I recognize...some netters...quite a few tribal folks...Sounds as if they've got some concerns that could take this well after lunch.

Back in a few.

[????_bio]

[Bill Monroe]

Hey...just let me know when you want me to stop. I don't absolutely HAVE to be here.

10 a.m...Cindy LeFleur calls to order.

Pretty low turnout. About 30 in the audience. Not too surprising though since the details are pretty much ironed out.

[Bill Monroe]

Staff report is delivered...no surprixes from yesterday's telephone commission meetings...

Recommendation is for one fish limits everywhere and a March 24-April 4 lower river sport season.

This will take a wile.

[garyk]

Thanks for the play-by-play.

I'd be curious to hear if Staff provide a rationale for such a drastic decline in SAFE area harvest - basically reversing the relative SAFE/mainstem percentages they've experienced the last two seasons?

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by garyk

Thanks for the play-by-play.

I'd be curious to hear if Staff provide a rationale for such a drastic decline in SAFE area harvest - basically reversing the relative SAFE/mainstem percentages they've experienced the last two seasons?

For whatever reason, the run size in SAFE areas is way down this year.
It was anticipated. Not sure a reason was given, but I can check.

[Bill Monroe]

Here's a change...

The lower deadline for the Columbia River sport (and commercial) fishery will be the west power lines on Hayden Island...NOT Interstate 5.

That will save you Fred's and Cathedral Park guys a few miles...

Allen Thomas, outdoor writer for the Columbian, follows these things closely and says the netters wanted some deeper water so the deadline came downriver to pick up those deep holes...thus recreational gets the same boundary.

[Bill Monroe]

Something else...

The mainstem Columbia will close to salmon fishing Feb. 25.

Willamette River's one-fish limit for springers will begin March 1. Looks as if the Clackamas River (but not Sandy) is in the one-fish limit zone up to North Fork Dam.

[garyk]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

For whatever reason, the run size in SAFE areas is way down this year. It was anticipated. Not sure a reason was given, but I can check.

IF you can get some explanation for such a dramatic decrease, that'd be very helpful. Thank you!

[RJH_FW]

Bill, did you find your media table ok?

[Bill Monroe]

You upriver Columbia anglers are looking at March 16-May 10 from the Tower Island power lines up to McNary Dam and river banks from Tower island down to Bonneville.

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by RJH_FW

Bill, did you find your media table ok?

Sort of...Got here early enough to help them set up and put it in a good spot.

[CATCH AND EAT]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

Something else...

The mainstem Columbia will close to salmon fishing Feb. 25.

Willamette River's one-fish limit for springers will begin March 1. Looks as if the Clackamas River (but not Sandy) is in the one-fish limit zone up to North Fork Dam.

Well, at least I get to fish one weekend in February.

[Clamman]

Originally Posted by garyk

Thanks for the play-by-play.

I'd be curious to hear if Staff provide a rationale for such a drastic decline in SAFE area harvest - basically reversing the relative SAFE/mainstem percentages they've experienced the last two seasons?

My understanding is that the decrease is due to two main factors;

1. These are Willamette stock fish, so they had a similar survival rate as those from the Willamette proper. As we have all heard it was not good.
2. I heard that the net-pen fish had some significant die-offs that would affect the number of 5-year olds coming back. Looks like most of the returns are of the 4-year old component

Clam

[eyeFISH]

I was looking forward to a trip to the Cathlamet/Clifton area, but Mar 24 to Apr 4 knocks me out of the LCR.

On-call for the local hospital Mar 18-31. Next day off won't be til the weekend of Apr 5-6... right after the lower river closes.

Bonne here I come.

[ShutUpandFish]

Thanks for the updates Bill!

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by Clamman

My understanding is that the decrease is due to two main factors;

1. These are Willamette stock fish, so they had a similar survival rate as those from the Willamette proper. As we have all heard it was not good.
2. I heard that the net-pen fish had some significant die-offs that would affect the number of 5-year olds coming back. Looks like most of the returns are of the 4-year old component

Clam

That kind of tosses a little cold water on the hypothesis that valley reservoirs pumped too much warm water into the system during the outmigration, doesn't it? Also the business about predation in the lower Willamette?
Sounds like a hatchery stock problem??? Disease???

[Bill Monroe]

About to wrap up the staff report.

Next Compact meetings won't be until late March.

[roadsend]

Originally Posted by eyeFISH

I was looking forward to a trip to the Cathlamet/Clifton area, but Mar 24 to Apr 4 knocks me out of the LCR.

On-call for the local hospital Mar 18-31. Next day off won't be til the weekend of Apr 5-6... right after the lower river closes.

Bonne here I come.

You have my understanding and my sympathy. http://www.ifish.net/board/images/smilies/love0031.gif Before I retired, I missed a lot of seasons for occupational reasons. Its a bummer but I liked my job.

[Bill Monroe]

Questions from the managers..

Lot of this is mostly a show and tell to expand on possible confusion or questions from the audience.

Most, not all, of the tribal reps have gone outside to caucus.

[slabhunter]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

Disease???

Or wasted as bycatch in the groundfish trawls???

[Bill Monroe]

Question about Hayden Island....

Those power lines are 2.5 miles above the Willamette mouth and 2.8 miles below I-5.

[Big Red Ripper]

Does this mean Freds will be fishable or closed?

[jetjockey]

Bill.... Will the upper river only be 1 fish as well... If so, that really sucks.. Wind River and Drano will be a parking lot..

[slabhunter]

BRR, From the link on the data/ marine page.
http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepag...latlontype=DMS

[Bill Monroe]

Whoops...got onto the wrong thread for a moment.

Liz Hamilton has shown up and the tribes returned to the room.

I'll ask about the one fish limits, but believe they will be system wide..

WDFW enforcement officer asked to comment on the recommendations.

Sgt. Webb, I think.

Says the cops asked for the day off of rec fishing to allow unimpeded, orderly net fishery. Contrary to what I've said in the past, that makes sense.

Both states have statutes prohibiting obstruction of commercial boats.

They've also talked with federal agents and everyone agrees.
__________________

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by slabhunter

Or wasted as bycatch in the groundfish trawls???

If that were the case, they'd have caught upper Columbia fish, too.

[Bill Monroe]

Time for a break...back in seven...

[Grain of Salt]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

If that were the case, they'd have caught upper Columbia fish, too.

this is only true if Willamette basin fish migrate and feed in the same locations at sea as Columbia basin fish...Ducks can be location specifc, why not fish?
probably better for a different thread...thanks for the play by play

[Bill Monroe]

John North says yes on one-fish in tributaries of the Willamette, including those above Willamette Falls.

He says it will be two fish above Bonneville Dam, including Drano, et al...

[slabhunter]

Bill, Thanks for sharing your observations.

I've heard staff tell about how few tag recoveries there have been from the upriver stocks. Willamette fish have had greater CWT recoveries because they tend to follow the structure more going to the North.

[fishbait]

We appreciate you Bill..........

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by slabhunter

Bill, Thanks for sharing your observations.

I've heard staff tell about how few tag recoveries there have been from the upriver stocks. Willamette fish have had greater CWT recoveries because they tend to follow the structure more going to the North.

I've heard indirectly from a source (who's also watching this) there were some disease problems in the pens in those outgoing years, coupled with bad ocean conditions...

[Bill Monroe]

Technical advisory committee...

Stuart (sp?) Ellis warns managers to be prepared for erratic predictions given recent past history.

[dogfishboy]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

Time for a break...back in seven...

Bill, I have yet to hear - or perhaps I missed it - why they switched to a one fish limit above the Willy on the CR. Please tell me it's not some blowback from the sporties speaking up. If it's an enforcement issue, it seems like they could change the upriver take to two fish after the lower river closes. Please enlighten us... if possible.

EDIT: My question was kinda answered reading another thread. Focus on the meeting and don't worry about answering. Thanks for your efforts.

[Bill Monroe]

Bruce Jim from intertribe says lower river has great impact on their ability to take fish, especially important because of the stature of these spring fish.

Seems to be saying their resources are waning and the reduction in fish, deer, elk, sheep, etc., is having an effect on tribal young people.

support limited fishing downriver and ask for careful monitoring of non-tribal gill-nets.

Tribal fishers have to turn in reports the same day and same week and he wonders why Oregon and Washington don't have to as well.

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by dogfishboy

Bill, I have yet to hear - or perhaps I missed it - why they switched to a one fish limit above the Willy on the CR. Please tell me it's not some blowback from the sporties speaking up. If it's an enforcement issue, it seems like they could change the upriver take to two fish after the lower river closes. Please enlighten us... if possible.

Not an enforcement issue....

If they allow a lower Columbia fishery, anglers down there will also catch upriver Columbia fish and it will cut into the allocation total for fish caught above I-5 (Hayden Island). So that fishery has to be trimmed a bit to allow it to go the distance.

[Bill Monroe]

Shoshone/Bannock tribes...Seem to be asking the compact for more protection of their fish and treaty rights and be cognizant of the poor forecast history.

Wants downriver fishing only through March, then shift to terminal areas.

[slabhunter]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

I've heard indirectly from a source (who's also watching this) there were some disease problems in the pens in those outgoing years, coupled with bad ocean conditions...

Yeah, I know about the "bad ocean conditions" dead rockfish washing ashore all the way up near the mouth of Grays Harbor.

Staff views each species in issolation, promoting the most harmful-least sustainable methods of commercial harvest.

Regards,
Hans

[Bill Monroe]

Sho-ban tribes are still speaking.

It's tough to see the world from their end...they're losing their culture as pollution, harvest and encroachment take a toll.

The salmon, they point out, don't know any boundaries as the states of Oregon and Washington sit in judgment down here.

[Bill Monroe]

Another sho-ban...This crystal ball you use to predict runs...then you overharvest...I've seen this happen...when you over-harvest, we feel it the worst.

(Several tribal members have come all the way from Fort Hall, Idaho, to testify at the compact meeting. They're so high in the system they don't even use gill-nets. I get the sense they probably aren't completely happy about lower tribal gill-netting either.)

[fishboys]

Vey tough indeed

[Bill Monroe]

Interesting...

As another tribal member asks to let some fish "come home...let them come back to spawn"....one of those who already spoke pulls out a cell phone and takes photos with it. Another holds a digital recorder.

So it's come to this...Native Americans from several hundred miles away are pleading for their religious and cultural heritage...and are armed with the technology to tell others back home what they're doing.

A younger woman speaks "for my family, people who can't make it here today and who have passed on...she breaks down for a moment..."It breaks my heart to see what's going on here." When she was a girl in the 70s, the fish supported her family...they were really big fish. Not they're not.
She's a health dietician, I think a diabetes specialist, for the tribe. Speaks of family and the fish as important also for the welfare of her patients...."I'm a mother, a friend..."
The system is "going to walk over us, but if the fish are taken from us, it's going to ripple across our people...walk in our shoes and see how it feels."
We want harmony and we want balance back in those rivers."

Wow...

[Smoked Salmon]

Let 'em know that some of us won't fish, even though the Commissions give us permission.

And good job with keeping us informed Bill. Thanks.

[Bill Monroe]

Here come a couple in traditional garb, holding eagle feathers and one with a fully feathered bonnet.

He says we come here as a family...refers back to Sacagawea and how they helped Lewis and Clark...says "we want to be respected as human beings too..." Let us fish.

Speaks of losing their lands, their rights.

We want the higher power to take care of us as human beings...to accomplish these goals.

More cell phones come out and photos are taken.

First time he's ever come to Portland (the area anyway since we're in Vancouver)...honored..we are salmon eaters. That's who we are.

I respect your ways...I pray to god you respect ours also.

[stlhdr1]

Originally Posted by eyeFISH

I was looking forward to a trip to the Cathlamet/Clifton area, but Mar 24 to Apr 4 knocks me out of the LCR.

On-call for the local hospital Mar 18-31. Next day off won't be til the weekend of Apr 5-6... right after the lower river closes.

Bonne here I come.

We'll make it work, I'll get you up there Doc....

Keith

[Bill Monroe]

Another Sho-ban member...also works for their fish and wildlife department.

Sho-bans fish only for subsistence...they don't sell fish.

Makes the interesting point that when everyone's fishing, they tend to get along. "It's only when politics comes into it that trouble begins." Where have we heard THAT before.

This is an interesting display and perspective not many of us down here pay any attention to at all.

They don't seem to be asking for specific things, but rather are making a plea for consideration of these fisheries at the other end...the home end.

"We're the headwaters."

In their own way, they're eloquent despite their version of English and sentence structure. The presentations are natural, from the heart. I haven't heard a single tribal member hestitate or say "uh," to break up thoughts and buy time.

He says he doesn't want to be on the Discovery Channel. "The human race wasn't put here to play the part of God."

Says the tribe has recently been recognized in US v Oregon. "When are we going to be recognized? When will we be heard?" Says they want to be more involved in the process.

It's not in the tone of a threat, just a plea.

"It's frustrating to live so far away and have to wonder whether we're going to have a season...I sincerely hope our voices will be heard and there's more cooperation with our tribes."

Seems to be the last of the tribal members.

Cindy thanks them.

[Twoshottom]

Originally Posted by CATCH AND EAT

Well, at least I get to fish one weekend in February.

Hopefully, I'll get to fish one weekend in March...

[tysdad]

[Bill Monroe]

Another break...they're going right through lunch.

Allen (Thomas, Columbian) says the Sho-Ban come every year with similar pleas.

This is the first I've seen this many of them, though.

If I worked for a newspaper, I'd grab a photographer and head for Fort Hall sometime this spring to see them fishing with spears. "I don't care much for the rod and reel."

[Bill Monroe]

Steve Williams munches on a banana during the break. Claims it's not bad luck.

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by tysdad

[roadsend]

Originally Posted by Bill Monroe

Steve Williams munches on a banana during the break. Claims it's not bad luck.

I never have understood the banana in the boat = bad luck thing, but some folks I know are obsessive about it.

[Capt. Hook]

Thanks Bill. I can really feel for those on the end of the salmon migration route.

[Bill Monroe]

Les Clark (gill-netter) reminds that gill-netters fought for the resource as well; they were instrumental in getting fish ladders at Bonneville Dam.

Doug Hunt from the Northwest Steelheaders says the commissions did the right thing, resulting in consistent and reliable fisheries on the Willamette and Columbia.

[Bill Monroe]

Decision time...

Staff says when the upper part of the Columbia closes on Tuesdays, the Columbia will close to all fishing, including night fishing on the Washington side...walleye, sturgeon, everything closes.

[Leggo]

That seems a little harsh

[Bill Monroe]

Steve Williams likes the package...says sport and commercial have to use the visioning process to resolve differences.

Cindy LeFleur says this year's fishery is unique. "I don't want anything to be set in stone."

(The Sho-Ban tribal members have all departed.)

[eyeFISH]

Sounds like it's a done deal...

[jzell]

Bill..is Stan Steele in attendance today?