January 2002
Contact: Josh Weiss,
Legislative and Legal Affairs Coordinator
(360) 902-2226

Situation

Smelt are a vital forage fish, important to the well-being of many bird and fish species in the marine and lower Columbia River ecosystems, most notably white sturgeon. Smelt also are the focus of a recreational fishery conducted primarily in Columbia River tributaries.

In past decades, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) managed smelt solely with regulations that changed little from year to year. Those regulations were confined to time and area restrictions on sport and commercial fisheries and a sport bag limit.

In the early 1990s, Columbia River smelt numbers declined dramatically, prompting more active management measures. In 1997, WDFW closed commercial smelt fishing and severely restricted the recreational smelt season in response to the population collapse.

In 2001 the states of Washington and Oregon drafted a management plan for Columbia River smelt that guards against over-fishing by monitoring smelt spawning success and by linking fishing levels to smelt abundance.

To implement abundance-based smelt management, WDFW biologists have greatly increased fishery monitoring and sampling activities. The Department also has initiated a stock assessment plan for measuring smelt spawning success, but is unable to continue it due to funding constraints.

Increased smelt management activities require WDFW to dedicate significant amounts of time forecasting smelt abundance, meeting with constituents, developing appropriate fishery regulations and responding to public questions and concerns.

Problem

The need to more actively manage smelt on a continuing basis has increased technical, management and administrative costs to WDFW.

Currently no recreational license is required for smelt, carp, albacore and crawfish harvest.

The lack of a smelt fishing license requirement continues to be perceived by some segments of the angling public as a message that smelt are of comparatively little value.

Proposal

To reflect significantly increased smelt management efforts by WDFW and to reflect the value of smelt to the ecosystem and to anglers, WDFW proposes that sport anglers be required to purchase a recreational fishing license for smelt fishing.

The revenue from sales of recreational licenses for smelt fishing is expected to raise $340,000 per biennium.

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