Gill net observer report for March 8/9

Pete · 03-10-2004, 10:34 AM

42 chinook
4 sthd. (wild)
91% catch chinook: 12.5% upriver, 76% chinook clipped.
81 drifts observed

Full-day fishery report should be available later today.

Lots of gull activity at mouth of Cowlitz- Marine mammals reported river wide. Smelt are present in Cowlitz.

Blue Tip Spinner · 03-10-2004, 10:38 AM

thanks pete!!!!

Riverkeeper · 03-10-2004, 10:45 AM

Does that mean there will likely be a season tomorrow?

Hogmaster · 03-10-2004, 03:46 PM

According to the hot line updated at 4:45 PM 4/10.

10 AM Th 4/11 - 10 AM Fri 4/12

Mouth to Kelly Point.

Lured In · 03-10-2004, 05:10 PM

Here is the update...

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/...arch10fact.pdf

In short they got 611 and released 191 chinook. They handled 76 steelhead of which 50 were wild.

Bendman · 03-10-2004, 05:42 PM

Pete (my name's Peter to) How are they catching so many steelhead? Are they still 9" mesh?

Lured In · 03-10-2004, 06:36 PM

Bendman...they are catching the "largest of the large" steelhead, that's how. Keep in mind an 'average' springer is roughly 18#'s and is easily caught in these nets. So how big does a steelhead have to be to get caught in one of these? Good question!

It's a dirty little secret the CRC doesn't want exposed. Don't forget there's a 30% mortality on these fish (steelhead) in the 9-9.75" mesh nets. Uh-oh...I hear black helicopters...gotta go. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

Lured In · 03-10-2004, 11:08 PM

Pete...thanks for the heads up. Those are some pretty good numbers compared to the last 5 test/actual fisheries. I would guess they are going to come in somewhere around 750-1000 nooks kept for the 24 hour period based on previous monitor data vs actual harvest. :shocked: (This is roughly 4x the previous monitoring report)

I guess we'll find out in a few hours

Riverkeeper...unless something went very wrong, I would say yes there will be another one tomorrow. How long it will be who knows. As long at the upriver percentage stays low, the nets will continue to pound the river as much as possible. Keep in mind the more time they spend fishing now, the better the chances they will be done by month's end.

[ 03-10-2004, 12:12 PM: Message edited by: Lured In ]

Pete · 03-10-2004, 11:09 PM

Just a guess on my part, there will be an announcement later today, but I can't see any reason they wouldn't go for it. It will be on the hotline first, then later on the web page.

You can call the "Hotline" Number on Monday and Wednesday afternoons to get the latest update on commercial fishing seasons. The hotline number is 360-902-2500; press "1" for commercial and "2" for Columbia River.

Bill Monroe · 03-11-2004, 07:03 AM

Actually, I asked that same question of both Steve King and Williams...The majority of those steelhead aren't the large ones, but rather normal-sized fish that are body-caught...the heads get through, but not all of the body. That accounts for a lot of net marks anglers see in the dorsal/to-anal zone. I think the mortality is still kind of high, but they said they've allowed for that...the steelhead mortality could close them down before the upriver springer figures. The good (or at least better for steelhead) news is that the steelhead runs are waning and will slow way down until the summers get here...

Lured In · 03-11-2004, 07:37 AM

Bill what you say is true, but I don't believe it is all of the story.

I have been wrestling with this concept for the last three years trying to understand the 'magic' behind impacts and what we (the general public) don't know.

You have to ask yourself, if they are caught by the body, why is the mortality so high as compared to tangle nets? Additionally, if this is true, why is it so close to the mortality rate for chinook? (40% for chin, 30% for stlhd in the large mesh nets).

Keep in mind these large mesh nets are real gillnets. The primary method of capture is via the gill plates as the fish trys to 'back out' of the net. The result is the cutting of the gill rakers in many cases.

What is the difference in actual size between a 20# springer and a 20# steelhead? Perhaps some would argue that the steelhead might be longer and not quite as 'plump', I would agree but not in any significance.

So how is it that a steelhead of equal size has a lower mortality in the nets than chinook? Are they somehow 'tougher' than chinook? Perhaps, but not likely.

IMHO the answer lies in averages. The 'average' steelhead mortality in the large mesh nets is 30%. Which means that for large steelhead it is higher than this, it could be 40%. These would be the largest of the large steelhead, say over 18#'s. For others (caught by the body) it would be lower, perhaps 20%. These fish may be in the 12-16# class. And of course the smaller steelhead generally do not get caught at all in these. :smile:

So what is the result of this? It is inadvertently (sp) targeting of our largest steelhead stock. I am not biologist, but I do know statistics and realize that a 20# steelhead will have roughly the same mortality rate as a 20# chinook.

If I am off base here,(its happened before

) I would love to have someone explain to me why this is not true. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] I am not trying to be arrogant, but if we don't question what the DFW's and the CRC tell us, they will continue to feed us half-truths.

steelhead98685 · 03-11-2004, 07:39 AM

Have you read the articles in the Columian Thursday. Many examples of gillkiller not allowing observers on their boats.

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 03-11-2004, 07:44 AM

Lured In

You are very correct regarding the �averaging� being what the impact is upon the entire population. These nets can and do selectively impact larger steelhead to a greater degree.
As to how great a degree, that is a good question.
:smile: