During September
2 through 14 of 2003, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
conducted a test fishery in Willapa River and Bay to evaluate the long-term
survival of adult salmon released from selective harvest gears. This
work is funded through a Saltonstall-Kennedy federal grant and was our
third year of evaluating adult coho salmon survival from gill and tangle
nets, and our first year of evaluating adult coho salmon survival from
purse seine and sport gears. We tried to fish with the purse seine in
a manner that captures fish benignly, and this was to provide a comparison
(or control) to fish captured with the commercial and sport gears. All
captured salmon will be given a jaw tag with a unique number and will
be released to freely swim to their respective spawning ground or hatchery.
The commercial
selective gear study contracted up to three commercial fishers to capture
fish with gill and tangle nets that are shackled together. WDFW samplers
on the boats assessed the condition of the fish at capture, applied
a tag and released the fish back into the water. Test fishing occurred
in Willapa Bay between South Bend and Tokeland.
For the sport fishing
hook and release study, in addition to using a research boat to fish,
WDFW received assistance from private sport fishers. Coho salmon for
this study were also given a jaw tag and released to swim freely. Participating
private sport fishers were entered into a raffle where they could win
cash prizes of $25, $50, or $100.
The purse seine
vessel attempted to catch similar populations of fish to the ones caught
by the other methods. One commercial fisher was contracted for this
portion of the study. The fisher was asked to set the seine in the conventional
manner, and to retrieve the net toward the vessel only partially so
that the net was loosely pursed at the side of the boat. This allowed
adult salmon to be dipped out with a dipnet and placed into a tote of
water. WDFW samplers assessed the condition of the fish, applied a tag
and released them back into the water. The seine was completely retrieved
only after all fish had been released.
Stay tuned for
our final report, coming in July 2005!
If you would
like further information about this study, please contact: WDFW fish
and wildlife biologist Charmane
Ashbrook, call 360-902-2672, or fax: 360-902-2944
