In a joint state hearing, the departments of fish and
wildlife from Oregon and Washington approved very limited commercial and
recreational smelt fisheries on the Columbia, Cowlitz and Sandy rivers for the
first time since the fish was listed for protection under the Endangered Species
Act in 2010. Collectively, these fisheries are expected to harvest less than 1
percent of adults returning to the Columbia this year.
Adult returns have shown significant improvement in recent
years and the return in 2014 is expected to be strong. These fisheries will
allow the states to obtain more current information about
the smelt population and help managers better understand trends and variability
in abundance. Though smelt are still listed for protection under the Endangered
Species Act, NOAA Fisheries supports limited research-based fisheries in strong
return years.
Commercial smelt fishing will be permitted for 8 days on the
Columbia, on Mondays and Thursdays, Feb. 10 – March 6, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fishing is restricted to 2” gillnets in Zones 1-3 only.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced smelt
fishing will be open on the Sandy River on Saturdays only March 1 - March 22
from 6 a.m. to noon. Fishing will be restricted to dip nets from the bank with a
bag limit of 10 pounds per angler per day, with no more than one day’s limit in
possession.
The state of Washington announced similar rules for the
Cowlitz, which will be open on Saturdays from Feb. 8 – March 1, 6 a.m. to
noon.
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