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Article published Aug 16, 2008
Tribal fishing on Columbia draws concerns from sports fishermen
By K.C. Mehaffey
World staff writer
BREWSTER — Brewster fishermen were more than upset when the Colville Tribes hired a commercial fishing boat last week and started using a 700-foot net to catch summer chinook in the Columbia River near Brewster.
Tribal and sports fishermen in the lower Columbia River have long been at odds over fishing rights, so the sight of nets in the upper reaches of the river produced some angry reactions.
"When that boat pulled into town, it was a huge thing," said Bob Fateley, an avid fisherman and owner of the Triangle Shell station in Brewster. "We've never seen anything like that in the upper Columbia. There was no aggressive anger, but there was some anger," he said.
But at least some of their ire — caused by fear that tribal fishermen would take the good fishing holes and start harvesting boatloads of salmon — settled when tribal officials explained their project to the Brewster City Council Wednesday night.
Officials from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation say they're testing the best way to harvest thousands of hatchery salmon while leaving wild fish in the river — something they must prove they can do before building the proposed Chief Joseph Hatchery. The hatchery could raise and release two million summer chinook each year along with other salmon, and construction could start as soon as 2010, said Joe Peone, director of Colville Tribes' Fish and Wildlife Department.
To test one of four methods of mass fishing, they've hired Kuller Fish Co., a commercial fishing outfit from Skamokawa, its owner and boat being used to cast a purse seine net. The net is dropped in a circle that, when pulled tighter, corrals fish until the fishermen can pick out the wild fish to throw over the net, leaving hatchery fish to be harvested.
The hatchery — along with an agreement between the Colvilles and the state last year — should mean more salmon fishing in the upper Columbia River for all, Peone said. "Everyone from the ocean to here will be harvesting these fish," he said. But federal agencies won't approve the hatchery if the tribe can't show it can remove most of the hatchery fish so they don't spawn and mix genetics with the wild ones, he said.
Peone said the tribes' first priority is to find a way to harvest the fish allocated to the tribe — which is based on returns and would be about 10,000 summer chinook this year. Tribal members now harvest only a fraction of that, because they don't have the means to catch more, he said.
"The tribes are not doing all of this fish management for nothing. We want to be able to harvest our allocation. But this year we're not trying to do that," he said. Using the purse seine net is only a test to see if it's financially and physically possible to live capture thousands of hatchery salmon, and release a large majority of the wild ones unharmed. If it works, Peone said, the tribe could buy its own boat and catch and distribute salmon to tribal members for both food and ceremonial purposes.
He said the tribe will only fish within the boundary of the Colville Indian Reservation, whose waters include the previous riverbed of the Okanogan River, part of which is now covered by the Columbia River due to the flooding by Wells Dam.
Fateley said he left Wednesday's city council meeting feeling hopeful that the tribes' plan could actually lead to better recreational salmon fishing in Brewster, and could eventually open new runs of spring and fall chinook.
"The tribe indicated they're very concerned about sports fishing, and the economic value they bring to all these towns," he said, adding, "I do believe the Colvilles have a more beneficial concern for all of us — sports fishermen and all — than some of the ways things have happened in the lower Columbia. For one thing, they're getting this hatchery built, and when they get that on line, and if they get two more runs going, it will be a great thing for all of us."
Not all fishermen are appeased. Rod Hammond, who operates R&R Fishing Guide service in Brewster, said when tribes start net fishing, sports fishermen find new places to fish.
"It doesn't matter if there are 500,000 (salmon) or two million, they'll be interfering with recreational fishing," he said, and added, "Once you have nets in the water, the recreational fishermen are not going to come here. That means nobody's buying gas, nobody's buying food, and right down the line."
Hammond said if the tribe is allowed to use nets, he thinks tribal fishermen should have to stay above the Okanogan River bridge on Highway 97, or be restricted to certain weekdays.
Heather Bartlett, salmon and steelhead manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said there are already discussions between the state and Colville Tribes about how the Colvilles can harvest the salmon allotted without bumping into recreational fishermen.
"We don't have those details worked out. Right now, the tribe is in an exploratory phase," she said.
Bartlett said she understands why sports fishermen are worried after seeing the nets. "Their concern or caution or apprehension is not unreasonable. This will be new for a while. But we do have a great working relationship with the Colville Tribes," she said, urging patience from fishermen before criticizing the tribal fishing.
She said the state supports the tribes' efforts to harvest the fish allotted to them. "They have fish they have been unable to access that should be theirs," she said, adding, "We believe we have all of our sharing defined, and that the sports fishers should anticipate the fish that are available for them to harvest will be there for them."
K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512
mehaffey@wenworld.com
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Article published Aug 16, 2008
Tribal fishing on Columbia draws concerns from sports fishermen
By K.C. Mehaffey
World staff writer
BREWSTER — Brewster fishermen were more than upset when the Colville Tribes hired a commercial fishing boat last week and started using a 700-foot net to catch summer chinook in the Columbia River near Brewster.
Tribal and sports fishermen in the lower Columbia River have long been at odds over fishing rights, so the sight of nets in the upper reaches of the river produced some angry reactions.
"When that boat pulled into town, it was a huge thing," said Bob Fateley, an avid fisherman and owner of the Triangle Shell station in Brewster. "We've never seen anything like that in the upper Columbia. There was no aggressive anger, but there was some anger," he said.
But at least some of their ire — caused by fear that tribal fishermen would take the good fishing holes and start harvesting boatloads of salmon — settled when tribal officials explained their project to the Brewster City Council Wednesday night.
Officials from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation say they're testing the best way to harvest thousands of hatchery salmon while leaving wild fish in the river — something they must prove they can do before building the proposed Chief Joseph Hatchery. The hatchery could raise and release two million summer chinook each year along with other salmon, and construction could start as soon as 2010, said Joe Peone, director of Colville Tribes' Fish and Wildlife Department.
To test one of four methods of mass fishing, they've hired Kuller Fish Co., a commercial fishing outfit from Skamokawa, its owner and boat being used to cast a purse seine net. The net is dropped in a circle that, when pulled tighter, corrals fish until the fishermen can pick out the wild fish to throw over the net, leaving hatchery fish to be harvested.
The hatchery — along with an agreement between the Colvilles and the state last year — should mean more salmon fishing in the upper Columbia River for all, Peone said. "Everyone from the ocean to here will be harvesting these fish," he said. But federal agencies won't approve the hatchery if the tribe can't show it can remove most of the hatchery fish so they don't spawn and mix genetics with the wild ones, he said.
Peone said the tribes' first priority is to find a way to harvest the fish allocated to the tribe — which is based on returns and would be about 10,000 summer chinook this year. Tribal members now harvest only a fraction of that, because they don't have the means to catch more, he said.
"The tribes are not doing all of this fish management for nothing. We want to be able to harvest our allocation. But this year we're not trying to do that," he said. Using the purse seine net is only a test to see if it's financially and physically possible to live capture thousands of hatchery salmon, and release a large majority of the wild ones unharmed. If it works, Peone said, the tribe could buy its own boat and catch and distribute salmon to tribal members for both food and ceremonial purposes.
He said the tribe will only fish within the boundary of the Colville Indian Reservation, whose waters include the previous riverbed of the Okanogan River, part of which is now covered by the Columbia River due to the flooding by Wells Dam.
Fateley said he left Wednesday's city council meeting feeling hopeful that the tribes' plan could actually lead to better recreational salmon fishing in Brewster, and could eventually open new runs of spring and fall chinook.
"The tribe indicated they're very concerned about sports fishing, and the economic value they bring to all these towns," he said, adding, "I do believe the Colvilles have a more beneficial concern for all of us — sports fishermen and all — than some of the ways things have happened in the lower Columbia. For one thing, they're getting this hatchery built, and when they get that on line, and if they get two more runs going, it will be a great thing for all of us."
Not all fishermen are appeased. Rod Hammond, who operates R&R Fishing Guide service in Brewster, said when tribes start net fishing, sports fishermen find new places to fish.
"It doesn't matter if there are 500,000 (salmon) or two million, they'll be interfering with recreational fishing," he said, and added, "Once you have nets in the water, the recreational fishermen are not going to come here. That means nobody's buying gas, nobody's buying food, and right down the line."
Hammond said if the tribe is allowed to use nets, he thinks tribal fishermen should have to stay above the Okanogan River bridge on Highway 97, or be restricted to certain weekdays.
Heather Bartlett, salmon and steelhead manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said there are already discussions between the state and Colville Tribes about how the Colvilles can harvest the salmon allotted without bumping into recreational fishermen.
"We don't have those details worked out. Right now, the tribe is in an exploratory phase," she said.
Bartlett said she understands why sports fishermen are worried after seeing the nets. "Their concern or caution or apprehension is not unreasonable. This will be new for a while. But we do have a great working relationship with the Colville Tribes," she said, urging patience from fishermen before criticizing the tribal fishing.
She said the state supports the tribes' efforts to harvest the fish allotted to them. "They have fish they have been unable to access that should be theirs," she said, adding, "We believe we have all of our sharing defined, and that the sports fishers should anticipate the fish that are available for them to harvest will be there for them."
K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512
mehaffey@wenworld.com
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
