Gillnetter solution... I've got the idea

[stlhdr1]

How about we all get together and devote a creek or two in the lower columbia to designate hatcheries to. They will be designed to raise Spring Chinook. There will be no sportsmen contact with these creeks, even in the estuary.

Then all the springers the creeks raise can be netted or if need be the netters can wait until the fish come to the hatchery which most all hatchery fish do in a hurry and they can harvest fresh chrome spring chinook all they want..... They can keep the nets out of the main columbia and call it a selective fishery. They can selectively pick the fish out of the hatchery bins and selectively pick the age, size, sex, etc... Plus they can leave surplus for spawning for the upcoming years... We'll never have to deal with them killing all the native fish again...

Hows that for an idea??
Keith :grin: [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img]

[ 02-24-2004, 10:39 PM: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

[David Johnson]

They do that at Youngs Bay, Grays River and Blind Slough, except that the sportsmen can fish for them too.

[stlhdr1]

Which Grays River?? I didn't know they had a full on program. How many fish do they harvest a year out of these areas??
Keith :grin:

[Full Freezer]

That's a great idea! Let them have a couple of creeks to raise their marketable fish & stay out of the main stem.

What can we do to get something like this rolling along??

[drhall99]

Someone (I believe it was one of the Amato's) has suggested that a fish wheel should be installed in the fish ladder at Bonneville to replace the gillnets. With constant staffing, the wild fish would be released within about a minute of capture and they could accurately control the quota. The wild fish mortality rate should be so low as to be insignificant. If I am incorrect about who's idea it was, I apologize.

Doug

[ 02-25-2004, 01:08 AM: Message edited by: drhall99 ]

[Ty]

You wouldn't need a fish wheel to harvest fish in a ladder... That woudl eb a great way for the native american to get there catch and release all native fish....

As far as the commercial fisherman..... It would be far cheaper to just buy there permits out then basically "ocean ranch" fish for them.

[husker]

nets arent needed......they can go grab them from any of the dams no problems......but that isnt an acceptable answer.....or hasnt been accepted by them....(gill netters, fish managers) yet.

[SPAZZ]

Gillnetters [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

[Clamman]

Harvesting at the dams or fishladders doesn't sound like a bad alternative. But in the reign of Homeland Security do you honestly think the Army Corps of Engineers or the Federal Governement would actually grant access to these facilities?

If I remember right back in the 90's the tribes wanted to dip shad from Bonneville fish ladders but the Federal Government said no due to unforseen security issues.


Clam