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2008 Columbia River Smelt Expectation, 2007 Catches, and Petition to list under ESA
| See also: | |
| Columbia/Cowlitz Smelt Fishing Reports | |
| Columbia River Forecast Archives | |
2008 Overview
The rapid decline in smelt biomass tonnage in the Canadian ocean shrimp fisheries in addition to other negative indices suggest poor smelt returns to the Columbia River in 2008. Joint Staff is recommending the 2007-2008 Columbia River smelt fisheries operate consistent with Level One fisheries. Level One fisheries are the most conservative to gain insight while minimizing the risk of over exploiting the spawning returns to the lower Columbia and its tributaries. Specific dates and times will be proposed at the December 13, 2007 Compact Hearing.
Positive abundance indicators for 2008 include:
1) strong adult eulachon returns (landings) during 2003;
2) high mainstem Columbia River larval densities during the winter of 2003;
3) low but improving level of Age 2 bycatch in the Canadian ocean shrimp fisheries during 2005.Negative abundance indices for 2008 include:
1) low mainstem Columbia River larval densities during the winters of 2004 and 2005;
2) a significant decline in smelt bycatch in the Canadian ocean shrimp fisheries since 2002;
3) low levels of Age 1 bycatch in Canadian ocean shrimp fisheries during 2004-2006;
4) low level of Age 2 bycatch in the 2006 Canadian ocean shrimp fisheries;
5) a major decline in Fraser River eulachon test fishery catches 2004-2007;
6) the general collapse of all eulachon fisheries in British Columbia since 2006;
7) the decline in Columbia River eulachon adult returns (landings and Catch Per Unit Effort) during 2004-2005;
8) potentially poor ocean survival rates due to unfavorable ocean conditions since late 2001
2007 Catches
Recreational fishing was poor due to muddy high flows and lack of fish in the Cowlitz and Sandy rivers. Commercial fishers landed 8,300 pounds of smelt; 7,100 in the mainstem Columbia and 1,200 pounds from the Cowlitz River. The 2007 commercial landings are the second lowest on record since 1938 (record is 200 pounds in 2005).
Petition to list under the Endangered Species Act
In 1999, retired WDFW biologist Sam Wright petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list Columbia River eulachon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NMFS determined that the petition along with other information at the time did not warrant a formal review. The reasons for this decision were a lack of information available to distinguish Columbia River eulachon as a distinct population segment, harvest data was not a reliable indicator of abundance and the extent to which eulachon spawn outside the Columbia River Basin.
On November 9, 2007, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe petitioned NMFS to designate populations of eulachon smelt south of the international border of the United States and Canada as a distinct population segment and to list this segment as threatened or endangered. In the petition, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe lists habitat degradation, overutilization of the resource, disease and predation, inadequate regulatory mechanisms, and various anthropogenic factors as threats to the distinct population segment.
NMFS is not required to determine if a formal review is warranted until February 9, 2008. If a formal review is warranted, it will be another year before a full status review and listing determination made. Therefore, the winter 2008 Columbia River smelt fishery would not be affected by these legal proceedings.
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