Post by: ICEMAN on December 18, 2010, 07:09:20 AM
Not good news at all. Wildlife has closed the entire state to smelt fishing it appears.
For those of you who have never smelt fished... I will share my experience
When I was young, we used to occasionally go and hit the cowlitz for a bucket of smelt. Not every year, but just occasionally. We would go down, scoop them out of the river with a dip net on a long pole. There would be other guys doing the same. I do not recall it being incredibly crowded. We would get a bucket for the home, and take em home and smoke them in the smoker, or pan fry them. This was in the late 70's and early 80's. I got busy with life thru the 80's and did not harvest any at all for years. Early 90's I would hear of smelt in the river and go hit one of the popular spots and dip net a bucket for my personal consumption. I was shocked to see so many people with nets. I forget but as I recall you could harvest four to five gallons per person? No license needed for smelt.
I remember two years in a row where I would go down for a bucket of smelt, maybe mid 90's. Both years the rivers edge was so crowded. No license needed, I never saw any enforcement checking your take. The rivers edge was crawling with large extended families with many many kids, with dads scooping and scooping until everyones bucket was full. It was actually difficult to find riverspace to dip at my favorite spot in Woodland. Wow, things have changed.
Now, it has been a few years since I have been able to dip at all. No fish returns. Not enough it appears for sport harvest.
OK, here is the reason for my post.
Q? Why are we at the point of closing this fishery down?
Commercial overharvest?
Overharvest by sport fishermen?
Environmental factors man caused?
Environmental non man caused?
I would argue that we should not have any commercial harvest of any species until an excess of resource is verified after the sport fishermen harvest. Sport fisherment first, then maybe commercial harvest. I would also argue that the basically unregulated "sport harvest" with little to no enforcement, literally huge extended families taking home trunk loads of fish day after day when the fish do return to the river has damaged the local resource.
I would also like to know if the rivers systems to our north are suffering the same as ours. What does the answer to this question indicate?
Statewide closure of eulachon smelt
Action: Closes sport fishing for eulachon (Columbia River) smelt statewide.
Effective dates: Dec. 15, 2010.
Species affected: Eulachon smelt (Thaleichthys pacificus )
Location: Statewide, all marine and freshwater areas.
Reasons for action: Eulachon smelt are listed under the Endangered Species Act as “threatened”. There are no harvestable populations within the state and the statewide fishing closure will provide additional protection.
Information Contact: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Program, (360) 902-2700, FISHPGM@dfw.wa.gov .
Post by: runamuk on December 18, 2010, 07:29:20 AM
Post by: gotshot on December 18, 2010, 07:32:46 AM
Post by: gasman on December 18, 2010, 07:38:20 AM
I would like to do it again some time, but dont look like i will :'(
Post by: Huntbear on December 18, 2010, 08:18:35 AM
To bad that it is closed, however, not surprising. Maybe they can rebuild the runs, and once again, the runs will be in the billions.
Post by: singleshot12 on December 18, 2010, 08:49:42 AM
Smelt are one of the main food sources for sturgeon too especially on the Columbia (NOT GOOD!)
Post by: woodrat on December 18, 2010, 09:19:39 AM
1. Environmental factors man has caused 2. Commercial overharvest - in that order..
+1, although I wouldn't exempt sport harvest from the equation either. The Elochoman River near me has been closed to smelt for as long as I've lived here, but locals still catch them anyway, and mostly they use them for bait, they don't even eat them! >:(
Harvest should have sharply restricted a long time ago, instead of waiting for an ESA listing to do something about it. Sad. Hopefully this is not too little, too late.
Post by: cohoho on December 18, 2010, 08:43:05 PM
Post by: shoot-em-dead on December 18, 2010, 08:57:25 PM
Post by: PolarBear on December 18, 2010, 09:23:12 PM
Post by: chester on December 18, 2010, 09:25:56 PM
Post by: huntergreg on December 18, 2010, 09:27:48 PM
We raked smelt on the beach on Camano in the 70's and 80"s tasty little fishes it was fun havent done it since I was a kid/teen.
Me to we did it when I was younger also. Fun to rake in. But haven done it in years
Post by: Sumpnneedskillin on December 18, 2010, 09:47:05 PM
Post by: Alchase on December 20, 2010, 12:25:30 PM
Fried smelt with Johnny's seasoning, yum ;)
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on December 20, 2010, 12:31:25 PM
Post by: BIGINNER on December 20, 2010, 12:34:23 PM
Post by: NRA4LIFE on December 20, 2010, 12:50:16 PM
Post by: xxlx7 on December 20, 2010, 01:00:02 PM
Post by: ICEMAN on December 20, 2010, 05:21:01 PM
Is this different than the smelt we catch in places such as deception pass????
I don't believe so. Wildlife only listed the one type on their webpage for smelt....
Post by: 300UltraMagShooter on December 20, 2010, 05:32:19 PM
1. Environmental factors man has caused 2. Commercial overharvest - in that order..
Smelt are one of the main food sources for sturgeon too especially on the Columbia (NOT GOOD!)
What exact "Man Caused Environmenatl Factors" are you speaking of?
p.s.
I've never even seen a smelt so have no idea and can't relate to any of this.
Post by: ICEMAN on December 20, 2010, 05:35:04 PM
1. Environmental factors man has caused 2. Commercial overharvest - in that order..
Smelt are one of the main food sources for sturgeon too especially on the Columbia (NOT GOOD!)
What exact "Man Caused Environmenatl Factors" are you speaking of?
p.s.
I've never even seen a smelt so have no idea and can't relate to any of this.
Over sedimentation of riverbeds due to logging practice etc....the normal complaints associated with salmon spawning grounds.... just my guess....
Post by: singleshot12 on December 20, 2010, 06:07:28 PM
Smelt are mainly plankton feeders so contaminated plankton from pollution maybe?
Post by: JimmyHoffa on December 20, 2010, 06:09:37 PM
Still somewhat on topic. I'm not trying to determine the impacts as much as trying to make sure my timeline is somewhat on.
So maybe a few of you can correct me where I'm wrong on this....but back when logging was first practiced here in the northwest (late 1800's/early 1900's), it was much less environmentally conscious----built roads, crossed streams, cut every tree standing. They pretty much kept similar logging practices until what the 1960's? 1970's? And huge runs of nearly every kind of fish were still reported year after year. These declines in fish stocks they keep talking about all seem to focus on mid-1990's on. So....the fish were still doing great during, what 90 years of 'horrible' logging practices; but in the years (more than 5 cycles of runs worth) with 'better', eco-friendly logging methods the fish are now not hacking it? Is my timeline off? Were the runs dropping noticeably back in the 30's? Or the 70's?
Post by: singleshot12 on December 20, 2010, 06:19:24 PM
Post by: Antlershed on December 20, 2010, 06:56:19 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on December 20, 2010, 07:12:27 PM
Is this different than the smelt we catch in places such as deception pass????I believe there are two different kinds of smelt. The kind you catch at deception pass Are not the same as the Columbia river smelt.
Post by: 280ackley on December 20, 2010, 07:56:09 PM
and pulp mill discharge, light pollution, rising ocean temperatures due to climate change.....
Still somewhat on topic. I'm not trying to determine the impacts as much as trying to make sure my timeline is somewhat on.
So maybe a few of you can correct me where I'm wrong on this....but back when logging was first practiced here in the northwest (late 1800's/early 1900's), it was much less environmentally conscious----built roads, crossed streams, cut every tree standing. They pretty much kept similar logging practices until what the 1960's? 1970's? And huge runs of nearly every kind of fish were still reported year after year. These declines in fish stocks they keep talking about all seem to focus on mid-1990's on. So....the fish were still doing great during, what 90 years of 'horrible' logging practices; but in the years (more than 5 cycles of runs worth) with 'better', eco-friendly logging methods the fish are now not hacking it? Is my timeline off? Were the runs dropping noticeably back in the 30's? Or the 70's?
Your point seems to be spot on. If silt was is a major factor why are there any fish in the Tutle-Cowlitz-Columbia after May 18th 1980. Personally I think overharvest by all and the fact we don't have a clue what is going on in the Pacific has more to do with it then anything. Pollution (all forms) is greatly lower now then in the industrial age yet the fish populations aren't growing.
Post by: 280ackley on December 20, 2010, 08:05:19 PM
Post by: woodrat on December 20, 2010, 10:45:22 PM
Also the kinds of pollution we are putting in the water now is way beyond simple sediment. And the logging practices are just as bad as ever, and they are clearing things way faster and on a larger scale than was possible in the pre-chainsaw and heavy machinery days.
Post by: BigGoonTuna on December 20, 2010, 11:18:17 PM
Post by: JimmyHoffa on December 20, 2010, 11:21:22 PM
Post by: FC on December 20, 2010, 11:40:52 PM
Post by: h2ofowlr on December 21, 2010, 07:21:58 AM
Post by: bobcat on December 21, 2010, 08:06:33 AM
Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 8:46 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 8:47 PM
By Scott Learn, The Oregonian
These smelt were caught in the Sandy River in 2003. The fish used to have huge runs in the Sandy and Columbia rivers, but their numbers have declined in recent years.Into the mid 1900s, Pacific smelt arrived in such abundance this time of year in Washington's Cowlitz River that tribal fishermen could rake them out of the water.
This year, the smelt, or "eulachon," appeared on one Friday afternoon, said Nathan Reynolds, Cowlitz Indian Tribe ecologist. For the tribe's annual eulachon ceremony on March 6, there were no smelt to catch.
That alarming trend is the backdrop for the Obama administration's decision, announced Tuesday, to list the Pacific smelt population that frequents the Columbia River as threatened, adding another fish to the Columbia's 13 listings of salmon and steelhead under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The smelt decision doesn't pack the drama or economic wallop of the salmon listings. But it will affect river habitat plans, fishing seasons, water flow from dams and permits for dredging and other work in and around Northwest rivers.
It also will force the government to take the small forage fish into account when regulating smelt bycatch in the ocean shrimp fleet.
Pacific smelt once swarmed from the ocean up the Columbia, Cowlitz, Lewis and Sandy rivers in massive spring migrations, attracting legions of dip-net-toting anglers.
But their numbers are at or near historical lows, and the fish is at at "moderate risk of extinction," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
In 2007, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in Washington asked NOAA to list smelt populations in Oregon, Washington and California for protection.
They're important to Native American tribes, to ocean and river food chains and -- when they're abundant -- to recreational and commercial fishermen, who sell them as food and fish bait.
The government hasn't kept close tabs on smelt, a fact that commercial fishing groups cited in opposing the listing.
Smelt populations are unpredictable, said Garth Griffin, a NOAA fishery biologist. Historical evidence indicates they dropped precipitously from 1830 to 1860, for example, then rebounded.
"They are a mysterious fish -- they're a species that can have booms and busts," Griffin said. "But what's happened in modern history is that the booms are much less abundant than the busts. That's very worrisome."
Pacific smelt typically spend three to five years in saltwater from Northern California to Alaska before returning to freshwater to spawn from late winter through midspring. They acted as a "salvation fish" for tribes, bringing badly needed fat after long winters.
In the portion of the species' range that lies south of the U.S.–Canadian border -- the population addressed by Tuesday's listing -- most smelt originate in the Columbia River basin.
The Columbia River Fishermen's Protective Union opposed the listing, saying the fish have shown resilience.
Gary Soderstrom, the group's former president and a commercial fisherman, said reports he got from fishermen indicated the fish were abundant in Grays River and other spots this year.
"I can see some reason to be conservative," Soderstrom said. "But this (downturn) is nothing new. Even when nobody fished them, this happened."
This year, the two states stopped smelt fishing, once year-round, on March 11. It's still allowed on the Sandy River. But smelt haven't shown up in numbers there since 2003.
NOAA's announcement didn't list fishing among the threats to Pacific smelt. It did include climate change, which Griffin said seems to be diminishing the plankton the smelt feed on in their traditional range.
Threats also include reduced water flows, bycatch in the shrimp fishery, water management and habitat changes in the Klamath and Columbia river basins, and predation by seals, sea lions and birds.
-- Scott Learn
© 2010 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.
Post by: WDFW Hates ME!!! on December 21, 2010, 01:54:44 PM
I remember reading about the commies last year getting 4000 pounds and the sports getting less than 1000 in what was a horrible return year.
I remember dipping smelt when i was a kid in kelso under the lewis street bridge. Limit was 20 pounds. And we would have a blast at night.
Last time i dipped smelt was in 2001-2002 off of rocky point and my brother saved a russian kid that fell in.
Post by: BIGINNER on December 21, 2010, 02:10:21 PM
Netting in the ocean hasn't helped. And commercial neting in the columbia hasn't helped either.
I remember reading about the commies last year getting 4000 pounds and the sports getting less than 1000 in what was a horrible return year.
I remember dipping smelt when i was a kid in kelso under the lewis street bridge. Limit was 20 pounds. And we would have a blast at night.
Last time i dipped smelt was in 2001-2002 off of rocky point and my brother saved a russian kid that fell in.
LOL NO WAY!!! I WAS THERE!! I KNOW THE KID THAT FELL IN TOO. :chuckle:
Post by: WDFW Hates ME!!! on December 23, 2010, 06:24:08 AM
Some of the problem has been people overharvesting.
Post by: jeepster on December 29, 2010, 09:59:19 PM
no smelt jigging in cornet bay?
does the ban go to just netting or jigging too?