Anglers able to harvest hatchery sturgeon starting July 1 in upper Columbia

[bearpaw]

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
June 21, 2016
Contacts: Chad Jackson, (509) 754-4624, x250;
Jeff Korth, (509) 754-4624, x22

Anglers will be able to harvest hatchery sturgeon starting July 1 in the upper Columbia River

OLYMPIA – Beginning July 1, recreational anglers will have the opportunity to harvest hatchery sturgeon from Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs, state fishery managers announced today.

This is the first time in two decades that anglers will be allowed to retain sturgeon in this section of the Columbia River, said Chad Jackson, district fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). 

Several thousand juvenile sturgeon were released into the upper Columbia River in 2003. Recent surveys indicate many of these hatchery fish have grown to harvestable size. About 4,000 hatchery sturgeon are estimated to reside in Wanapum Reservoir and roughly 2,000 in Priest Rapids Reservoir.

"We believe reducing the number of hatchery fish in these reservoirs will help regional conservation efforts to recover wild sturgeon populations," Jackson said. "We're hoping to remove as many of these hatchery sturgeon as possible."

As part the plan to recover the white sturgeon populations, state fish managers approved this fishery to reduce interaction between wild fish and hatchery sturgeon. WDFW is implementing a size restriction for this fishery that is designed to target hatchery sturgeon while protecting larger wild fish, Jackson said.

Between July 1 and Sept. 30, anglers will be allowed to retain two hatchery sturgeon daily that are between 38 and 72 inches (fork-length) from Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs. Sturgeon caught in these reservoirs will not count toward an angler's annual limit for sturgeon. Anglers will not be required to record sturgeon harvested from the two reservoirs on their catch record cards. 

Angler participation and success will determine whether WDFW will reopen the fishery after its scheduled closing date of Sept. 30, Jackson said. WDFW will monitor angler catch and compliance closely.   

"We know there are thousands of these hatchery fish residing in Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs," he said. "We don't know whether this will be a onetime opening or if there will be future fishing opportunities." 

More details about this fishery can be found on WDFW's webpage at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

That's real cool!!! Hope the WFC isn't out to ban hatchery sturgeon?

[Timberstalker]

That's a good chance to catch these sturgeon.  Pretty liberal limit.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Any open seats?
Sure would love to catch another one someday...

[theleo]

How do you tell a hatchery sturgeon from a wild one? Can't seem to find it in the regs.

[HUNTaHOLIC5]

Hopefully I get a chance to go down there this year . Sturgeon fishing is a blast!

[jackmaster]

How do you tell a hatchery sturgeon from a wild one? Can't seem to find it in the regs.

[Gringo31]

 

I'm kinda lost.  They put them in 13 years ago but are now worried they'll "interact" with the wild sturgeon and want as many removed as possible?

I'm wondering if the hatchery fish have a scoot removed on one side.  Most common is the third scoot on left side (from what I've caught)

[Gringo31]

FISHING RULE CHANGE
WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
June 21, 2016



Sturgeon harvest allowed in Wanapum and Priest Rapids Reservoirs

Action: Allow harvest of sturgeon

Effective Dates: July 1 through Sept. 30, 2016

Species affected: White sturgeon between 38 and 72 inches fork length

Location: Priest Rapids Reservoir (from Priest Rapids Dam to Wanapum Dam) and Wanapum Reservoir (from Wanapum Dam to Rock Island Dam)

Reason for action: Hatchery-origin white sturgeon residing in Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs since the early 2000's are abundant and have grown to a harvestable size. Removal of these hatchery-origin fish is consistent with ongoing actions to rebuild depressed populations of wild-origin White Sturgeon in Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs.

Other information:

Daily limit of two (2) sturgeon between 38 and 72 inches fork length may be harvested from Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs only.

No annual harvest limit of sturgeon between 38 and 72 inches fork length from Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs only.

Anglers are not required to record sturgeon harvested from Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs on a Catch Record Card.

Catch-and-release fishing is allowed in Wanapum and Priest Rapids reservoirs after the daily limit is harvested.

Any sturgeon not to be harvested must be released immediately. Oversized sturgeon cannot be removed totally or in part from the water.

Night fishing for sturgeon is prohibited.

Only one single-point barbless hook and bait is allowed while fishing for sturgeon.

Anglers may fish with two poles with the purchase of a Two-Pole Endorsement license.

In the field, anglers must retain eggs with intact carcass of fish from which they came.

All closed water areas in and around Wanapum, Priest Rapids, and Rock Island dams are still in effect. Check the current sport fishing rules pamphlet for complete details (http: //wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/).

Daily and annual limits, harvestable slot length limits, Catch Record Card recording requirements, and all other sport fishing rules governing sturgeon harvest in all other legally open fisheries still apply.

Information Contact: Chad Jackson, District Fish Biologist, (509) 754-4624, ext. 250 or Jeff Korth, Region 2 Fish Program Manager, (509) 754-4624, ext. 224

[Dhoey07]

Because native sturgeon>hatchery sturgeon 

[DOUBLELUNG]

I'm kinda lost.  They put them in 13 years ago but are now worried they'll "interact" with the wild sturgeon and want as many removed as possible?

I'm wondering if the hatchery fish have a scoot removed on one side.  Most common is the third scoot on left side (from what I've caught)

The hatchery sturgeon were planted by the tribes (Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission).  They are now approaching reproductive age and it would be beneficial to the population to remove as many as possible before they reach reproductive age.  More recent supplementation measures use wild-caught Columbia River hatchlings, as well as breeders that are captured by angling, spawned at a Yakama Nation hatchery and then released back into the Columbia, and are a better genetic representation of the wild population. 

Don't count on this, but I believe WDFW will consider all sturgeon from those reservoirs within the slot limit to be hatchery fish from the 2003 release; look for WDFW to confirm that.  There is very little first-year survival of wild-spawned sturgeon in the mid-Columbia, which is the reason for the captive rearing programs implemented by Grant, Chelan and Douglas PUDs in cooperation with the state and tribes.  Yearling sturgeon reared by those programs and released into Wells, Rocky Reach, Priest and Wanapum reservoirs are showing very good survival and strong augmentation to the wild populations in those reservoirs.

[whacker1]

tag

[rasbo]

so lets hear of some good areas ,do ya need to be below the dam in fast water?

[jackmaster]

so lets hear of some good areas ,do ya need to be below the dam in fast water?

i am far from an expert but we always used shrimp in a deep low hole, we could stay on bottom with a 1 oz chunk of lead, nocked the crap out of them.

[Gringo31]

I called the bio.

What is a hatchery and what is wild???

All fish in the slot are considered to be hatchery.  Now...they will have the 2nd, 3rd, and 10th scoot removed on their left side.  If you are decent at handling these fish and know what to look for, that will confirm it for you.  But, keeping fish in the slot is allowed if technically they are hatchery or not.