A friend of mine sent a lengthy letter to the DFW regarding the salmon
program initiated in the Yakima River, and here is the response he received.
Richard Embry
>Subject: YAKIMA CHINOOK FISHING
>
>
>> August 9, 2000
>>
>> The Fish and Wildlife Commission, Director Koenings and Fish Program (FP)
>staff apologize for the delay in responding to your e-mail concerning the
>upper Yakima River spring chinook salmon fishery. The large number of
>e-mails received from concerned citizens, combined with the complexity and
>variety of the issues raised, contributed to the delay. FP staff needed
>sufficient time to thoroughly respond to all topics and organize the
>following response. Thank you for your patience.
>>
>> Upper Yakima River Fish Management Objectives
>>
>> First, the WDFW shares your concern and appreciation for the wild rainbow
>trout population and fishery in the upper Yakima River upstream of Roza
Dam.
>WDFW has no intention to let this carefully nurtured resource be degraded.
>We are well aware of the uniqueness of this high quality, catch and release
>(C&R) trout fishery centrally located in the "heart of Washington". The
>gradual improvement in the trout population over the last 20 years is no
>accident. It is the result of: a) fishing regulations that have (and will
>continue) to promote trout survival and growth; b) on-going efforts by WDFW
>Habitat Program staff to improve fish habitat through regulation of
in-water
>activities via the Hydraulic Project Approval process, input into the
county
>Shoreline Management Act process and habitat enhancement projects; and c)
>Fish Program efforts to gradually improve in-stream flow regimes through
>active involvement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Yakima Basin
>irrigation interests (more about this later). However, WDFW's objective
is
>not to limit the upper Yakima River solely to resident trout production and
>fishing opportunity. We are convinced that it is possible to increase
>spring chinook salmon runs and provide opportunity for conservative chinook
>fishing/harvest (when justified by large run size) without jeopardizing the
>wild trout fishery.
>>
>> In fact, we believe that increasing runs of salmon and steelhead in the
>upper river will substantially benefit the aquatic ecosystem and the trout
>population in the long run. Benefits will accrue in two ways: 1) by
>providing more post-spawning carcasses that decompose and yield
>"marine-derived nutrients" which increase aquatic productivity (benthic
>algae, aquatic insects, etc.), and 2) by helping to sustain and increase
>public support in central WA for habitat protection regulations and
improved
>in-stream flows, which often impact irrigated agriculture on which the
local
>economy depends. WDFW's long-term ability to protect the upper Yakima
River
>for resident trout and anadromous fish depends on the cooperation of the
>people who live and work in the Yakima Basin and local governments (county
>and municipal). Unfortunately, many of the residents and their
governmental
>representatives view habitat protection and in-stream flow enhancement for
>fish (salmon, steelhead and trout) as a liability---not as a necessary
>requirement to protect an important natural resource asset. This attitude
>is prevalent, notwithstanding the economic activity in Kittitas County
>created by the C&R trout fishery. WDFW views the rebuilding of the chinook
>salmon run and ability to harvest salmon, even on a limited basis, as
>further incentive to sustain/improve habitat protection and in-stream
flows.
>Even a modest salmon fishery upstream of Roza Dam, like the 8-day fishery
>held this year, provides a tangible, "high profile" return on the local
>investment in habitat protection.
>>
>> Biological Justification for 2000 Spring Chinook Salmon Fishery
>>
>> As of July 25, the Roza Dam spring chinook count totaled 11,888 including
>10,740 wild adults (primarily age 4s), 493 wild jacks (age 3s) and 655
>marked Cle Elum Hatchery jacks. By the end of the migration season in late
>August, the total count is expected to reach 12,000----the highest return
in
>recorded history and nearly 4 times the previous record run of 3,267 in
>1986. The wild spring chinook are truly native, wild salmon---this record
>run is not the result of an introduction (or reintroduction) of chinook
from
>an outside hatchery donor stock. Wild spring chinook have always been in
>the Yakima Basin, although the runs have been low and unable to support
even
>a modest sport fishery until this year. Even with the estimated sport
>fishery harvest of 100 salmon (see below) and Cle Elum Hatchery brood stock
>collection at Roza Dam of 548 fish (511 adults, 37 jacks), the remaining
>spawning escapement (approx. 11,300 fish) will be the largest ever
recorded.
>This run size was sufficient to warrant the 8-day fishery based on a
maximum
>expected harvest of 400 fish (50/day). The actual catch proved to be only
>about 25 percent of our pre-fishery estimate.
>>
>> The dramatic improvement in the wild spring chinook run can be attributed
>to very favorable habitat conditions in the freshwater and marine
>environments which increased survival at all life stages from egg to
>returning adults. Major, "channel forming" flood events in Nov. 1995 and
>Feb. 1996 were beneficial for the upper Yakima aquatic ecosystem.
>Post-flood surveys by WDFW staff revealed that flood flows created new
>habitat by depositing large amounts of large woody debris in the river,
>created new side channel spawning and rearing habitat (or reopened old side
>channels that had diminished over time), and flushed fine sediments from
the
>river bed that limit egg and sac-fry survival. The parents of the 10,700+
>wild adult salmon returning this year spawned in Sept.-Oct., 1996 and their
>offspring experienced improved physical habitat conditions during their
>freshwater rearing phase in 1997. They also experienced improved flow and
>water quality conditions in 1997-98 due to above average water supply
>resulting from good snowpack accumulation attributed to the "La Nina"
>climatic phenomenon. The same habitat variables that improved freshwater
>juvenile salmon survival also benefitted the aquatic invertebrate "food
>web", and presumably, the resident rainbow trout population. Good river
>flows in the Yakima and Columbia R. in spring, 1998 during the smolt
>out-migration and
>>
>>
>> favorable ocean survival (again due to La Nina) combined with higher
>freshwater survival to produce this large run. Other hatchery and wild
runs
>in the Columbia R. basin experienced similar increases this year for the
>same reasons.
>>
>> Note that 11,233 of the Roza Dam count (94.5 percent) were wild fish,
with
>the remainder of the run consisting of 655 hatchery jacks (5.5 percent) .
>These jack salmon are the first returns from the new Cle Elum
>Supplementation & Research Facility....the centerpiece of the NW Power
>Planning Council approved, Bonneville Power Administration funded, Yakima
>Fisheries Project (YFP) managed and operated by WDFW and the Yakama Nation.
>These hatchery fish are the offspring of wild salmon brood stock collected
>at Roza Dam in 1997, hatched and reared at Cle Elum in 1998 and released
>from three acclimation/release ponds in the upper basin in spring, 1999.
>The stated purpose of the YFP is to supplement and increase returns of
>naturally-spawning salmon. Only unmarked wild salmon are used for brood
>stock purposes---returning hatchery-reared fish (one generation removed
from
>the wild) are allowed to spawn naturally with other wild salmon. The
>ultimate objective is to increase the number of naturally-spawning fish and
>producing stable returns capable of: 1) providing large inputs of
>"marine-derived nutrients" (carcasses) to enrich the freshwater ecosystem,
>and 2) sustaining tribal and non-tribal (sport) harvest within the Yakima
>Basin. The Yakama Nation has always had a dip net and hook and line
>"ceremonial and subsistence" (C&S) fishery for spring chinook in the lower
>Yakima River below Union Gap---even before the YFP began supplementing the
>upper Yakima spring chinook run. The tribal fishery is managed each year
to
>not exceed a 20 percent harvest rate, so that annual catch increases or
>decreases according to run strength.
>>
>> Because Cle Elum Hatchery is a research and production facility with
>stringent disease prevention and rearing protocols, the facility is open
to
>the public for tours on an appointment basis only at this time. Interested
>citizens should call Facility Manager, Dan Barrett, at (509)-674-3701 or
the
>Asst. Mgr., Charlie Strom (674-3702) to arrange a tour.
>>
>> Spring Chinook Salmon 2000 "Test" Fishery Summary
>>
>> During the 8-day salmon fishery, which ran four consecutive weekends
>(6/10-11, 6/17-18, 6/24-25, and 7/1-2), Region 3 Fish Program (FP) staff
>interviewed 320 salmon anglers who fished 941 hours and caught and kept 29
>adult and 2 jack spring chinook. Either one or two biologists worked each
>day of the fishery. In addition, salmon anglers caught and released 61
>trout and 116 spring chinook salmon smolts that had residualized rather
than
>migrating downstream. This equates to 1 salmon for every 10.3 anglers,
.033
>salmon/hour or 30.3 hours/salmon. This is considered poor to fair salmon
>fishing, but was not unexpected in a new fishery where all anglers are
>inexperienced regarding where and how to catch salmon.
>>
>> FP staff also asked anglers if they caught fish on previous days, and if
>they saw any fish caught by other fishermen that we did not check.
>Including interviews by wildlife enforcement officers, an additional 19
>adult and 2 jacks were reported caught. Therefore, fish checked plus fish
>reported caught totaled 48 adults and 4 jack salmon. A expanded,
>preliminary estimate of total salmon harvest is approximately 100 fish.
This
>number is based on using two estimation methods which yielded total harvest
>estimates of 75 fish and 122 fish, bracketing a mid-point of 100 fish.
The
>final catch estimate will be determined later based on returned salmon
catch
>record cards.
>>
>> Except for the opening weekend, most salmon fishing effort and harvest
was
>upriver from Ellensburg---particularly in the Teanaway River to Thorp
Bridge
>reach. River flows the first weekend were moderate and fishable, but very
>high flows the second weekend, caused by a rapid increase in snowmelt
runoff
>in the upper Cle Elum R. basin, which was passed through the Bureau of
>Reclamation storage reservoir, drastically reduced fishing success. Flow
>the last two weekends was much lower and clear resulting in improved
fishing
>conditions. However, salmon fishing effort declined each weekend, and was
>very low by 7/1-2.
>>
>> WDFW angler interviews focused on salmon fishermen who tended to start
and
>complete their fishing trips earlier in the day than trout anglers.
>However, FP staff also interviewed 65 trout anglers who were predominantly
>fly fishing. These trout anglers fished 208 hours and caught and released
>85 trout and 60 residualized chinook salmon smolts.
>>
>> Angler knowledge of the salmon fishery regulations concerning lure and
>hook restrictions and compliance with the rules was generally excellent
>based on gear checks made by enforcement officers and FP biologists during
>the creel census. Many salmon fishermen had a copy of the regulations in
>their possession for reference. The use of bait was prohibited and we did
>not check any fishermen using roe eggs or other bait. Virtually all bank
>fishermen used casting spinners, while boat fishermen used spinners or
>back-trolled floating salmon plugs through deep holding pools. Nearly all
>anglers checked fishing spinners used legal single-pointed hooks with a
hook
>gap ranging from � - 3/4 inch. Boat fishermen "pulling plugs" were
>permitted to use treble hooks with the same � - 3/4 inch hook gap. The
>hook size requirement was intended to minimize the hooking of small trout,
>while the use of treble hooks on plugs was intended to minimize the
hooking,
>playing and subsequent loss of salmon after the fish was already exhausted.
>We did not check any salmon angler who had kept trout---all salmon
fishermen
>we interviewed were aware of the catch and release regulation for trout and
>complied with the rule. Based on a large volume of scientific literature,
>more than 90 percent of trout caught and released on the salmon gear
>approved for this test fishery are expected to survive. This is only
>slightly less than the expected survival of trout caught and released on
>single, barbless flies.
>>
>> Gear Restrictions for Future Salmon Fisheries
>>
>> The pre-season prediction for the 2001 spring chinook run in the Columbia
>Basin, in general, and the Yakima Basin, specifically, is significantly
>larger than 2000 based on record jack salmon (age 3) counts at Bonneville
>Dam, Prosser Dam and Roza Dam this year. In addition, in 2001 the first
run
>of YFP hatchery supplementation adults will return to Roza Dam. The
>combined wild and hatchery supplementation run may be very large. If this
>proves to be true, there will be sufficient fish next year for another
>spring chinook sport fishery. Salmon gear restrictions will change next
>year based on feedback from both trout and salmon anglers during this years
>test fishery. Salmon anglers who learned through experimentation that
>barbed, treble hooks were unnecessary to assure success with plugs, have
>suggested that WDFW make the salmon gear restrictions for future fisheries
>consistent with "selective gear rules" required for trout and other
gamefish
>upstream of Roza Dam. WDFW will make this change for future salmon
>fisheries: bait will remain prohibited; unscented artificial flies or
lures
>with barbless, single-pointed hooks. For salmon fishing, hook gap will
>remain between � - 3/4 inch.
>>
>> There continues to be some confusion by trout anglers concerning the
>difference between the "Fly Fishing Only" (FFO) regulation and "Selective
>Gear Rules" (SGR)----and what rules apply in the Yakima River upstream of
>Roza Dam. The upper Yakima is not restricted to FFO which limits fishing
>to: 1) a single artificial fly constructed with a single-pointed, barbless
>hook with hook gap less than � inch, and 2) use of a conventional fly rod
>and fly line. This rule would prohibit the use of spinning or bait casting
>tackle casting spinners or other lures. WDFW is not willing to force
>anglers who do not fly fish off the upper Yakima River. Instead, the SGR
>combined with catch and release provides sufficient protection for the wild
>trout population without unduly limiting access to the fishery to the
>general public. Adopting the FFO regulation would also impact fly
fishermen
>who, under the SGR, may legally fish with up to three flies (dry fly on the
>tippet and one or two droppers with nymphs). Under the FFO rule, only a
>single fly is permitted.
>>
>> Location of Future Spring Chinook Salmon Fisheries
>>
>> WDFW's decision to locate the spring chinook fishery this year upstream
of
>Roza Dam is based on three issues:
>>
>> 1) It is not appropriate or prudent to place the sport fishery in the
>lower river downstream of Union Gap "in front of" or "on top of" the Yakama
>Nation's (YN) treaty-secured, ceremonial and subsistence fishery. WDFW's
>ability to open a sport fishery for spring chinook depends on good
relations
>and cooperation with our legal (federal court mandated) "co-managers", the
>YN. We intend to prevent avoidable conflicts with the YN tribal
government,
>the federal court and between sport and tribal fishermen on the water by
not
>competing for fish in the same geographic area.
>>
>> 2) WDFW will not fish on the weaker Naches River component of the run
(at
>least at this point in time) which this year accounts for only 30 percent
>(5,000 - 6,000 fish) of the total return to the mouth of the Yakima River
>This eliminates staging a fishery in the Yakima River between Union Gap and
>mouth of the Naches River where the two components of the run are still
>co-mingled. Furthermore, many Naches R. fish migrate past the Naches River
>confluence and hold during the spring in the Yakima River downstream of
Roza
>Dam before dropping back and migrating to upper Naches basin spawning
>grounds. This eliminates fishing in the very short Naches R. - Roza Dam
>reach, which also has poor access and few fishable holding pools for salmon
>fishing.
>>
>> 3) WDFW does not want to further complicate the collection of
>experimental research data from returning YFP hatchery supplementation fish
>at the Roza Dam adult collection facility. All YFP fish are coded-wire
>tagged or PIT-tagged and must be interrogated to collect tag data at Roza
>before being released to continue migrating upstream. Staging the sport
>fishery upstream of Roza Dam eliminates this problem.
>>
>> However, WDFW intends to eliminate the area from Roza Dam to the boat
>access at the City of Ellensburg's Irene Rinehart Park from future salmon
>fisheries. Feedback from fishermen and the creel census survey this year
>showed that few salmon fishermen fished or caught salmon in the Yakima
River
>Canyon area. There are few holding pools in the Yakima Canyon and salmon
>rapidly migrate through this 25 mile reach to upper river holding areas.
>>
>> Catch & Release vs. Harvest of Salmon
>>
>> Salmon anglers want to be able to catch, keep and eat spring chinook
>salmon---arguably the best salmon for the table. FP staff checked several
>salmon this spring that were cleaned. Although skin color was turning dark
>green or bronze, flesh quality was very high---firm and dark red.
Fishermen
>that had already eaten salmon from an earlier catch reported that table
>quality was excellent. During the recent fishery, the daily limit was one
>salmon per angler---half of the usual two fish limit in most salmon
>fisheries. The one fish limit reduces harvest and distributes harvest more
>evenly among fishermen.
>> We do not believe that allowing the taking of spring chinook by salmon
>fishermen promotes the illegal harvest of rainbow trout that must be
>released unharmed. As discussed above, salmon fishermen we interviewed
>understood the regulations and released trout caught incidentally.
>Implementation of the same "selective gear rules" for salmon in future
>fisheries, as is currently required for trout, will assure that trout
>released by salmon anglers will have the same or nearly the same
probability
>to survive as trout that are hooked, played to exhaustion on light gear and
>released day-after-day by more numerous fly fisherman who can fish
>year-round (as opposed to a few weekends in the spring).
>>
>> WDFW actually discouraged catch-and-release for salmon during the test
>fishery. We did not want salmon fishermen "high grading" (catching and
>releasing fish in hopes of catching a larger salmon) or hooking and playing
>fish to exhaustion simply for the sport. Unlike resident trout, adult
>salmon do not feed after leaving the ocean and must survive for months
>living off stored energy reserves----in the case of Yakima spring chinook,
>from early March until mid-September. A carefully released trout quickly
>recovers and resumes feeding. A hooked and "played out" salmon this far
>from the ocean (Roza Dam is 463 river miles from the ocean) has a low
>probability of surviving to spawn---catch and release may cause increased
>pre-spawning mortality. The salmon carcass is still in the river to
provide
>nutrients for the ecosystem, but fertilized eggs for the next generation
are
>not deposited in the spawning gravels. Our intention was for salmon
>fishermen to catch and keep (or release if they chose) the first salmon
>hooked which ended the days fishing. We actually hoped that trout anglers
>might enjoy the opportunity to fish for salmon early in the morning, catch
>and keep a salmon for the table, and then switch to fly fishing gear to
>catch and release trout during the afternoon/evening insect hatches.
>>
>>
>> Yakima River Flow Management - Who Manages the Water?
>>
>> No state agency, including the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
>(WDFW), has the sole authority to make decisions dictating how the
>federally-owned Yakima Project is operated. The Yakima Project is operated
>by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) ( not the U.S. Bureau of Land
>Management (BLM)). WDFW is only one of many parties that provides input
and
>advice to USBR on how to manage the Project (both operations and
maintenance
>activities). Other agencies (local municipalities, county, state and
>federal governments), the Yakama Nation, irrigation districts and
>agricultural organizations, environmental organizations, etc., to name a
>few, all provide USBR input based on "their unique perspective" of how the
>Project should be operated. USBR must weigh all this input and reach a
>compromise decision that attempts to balance the interests of all parties.
>Regardless of our personal or professional opinions on the subject, the
>Yakima River is managed on a "multiple use" basis. This means that no
>single use, such as managing the river for optimum wild trout production
and
>fishing, can occur----the best we can hope to achieve is a compromise flow
>regime that provides sub-optimal, but good habitat for the aquatic
ecosystem
>(insects, fish, etc.). That is, unless the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
>listing of Yakima basin steelhead as "threatened" and recent adoption of
the
>"4(d) rules" by the National Marine Fisheries Service provides greater
>leverage to the state and federal fish agencies and YN. The listing of
>steelhead may hasten the rate that positive changes can be made for fish
and
>the aquatic ecosystem.
>>
>> Fortunately, the State of Washington has a clear voice in this "give and
>take" process because of a group known as the "System Operations Advisory
>Committee" or SOAC. SOAC was formed by USBR in July, 1981 under federal
>court order in response to a crisis in 1980 concerning the USBR providing
>inadequate flows in the fall and winter for incubating spring chinook
salmon
>eggs in the upper Yakima River near Cle Elum. The judge ordered USBR to
>establish SOAC to provide input on how to operate the Yakima Project in a
>manner that strives to minimize adverse impacts to fish and fish habitat.
>Before 1981, fish and fish habitat interests had virtually no voice in the
>process. SOAC consists of four fish biologists representing Washington
>State (WDFW), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Yakama Nation and the
>Yakima Basin irrigation districts/water users. This group attempts to make
>recommendations by consensus, but the tribal and fish agency
representatives
>occasionally must submit a majority opinion if the irrigation interests can
>not agree. Note that SOAC is only an advisory body and makes
>recommendations to the USBR Yakima Project manager----other entities may
>provide separate input which is used in making the final decision.
>>
>> In spite of a process virtually guaranteed to generate compromise
>decisions, there have been many positive changes in the river flow and
>reservoir release regime for fish and fish habitat in the past 19 years
>directly related to SOAC input. WDFW's Region 3 Fish Program Manager, John
>Easterbrooks, is the only original member of SOAC still on the committee
>after 19 years. This provides WDFW with a valuable "voice of experience"
>and the historic continuity that is needed to benefit the aquatic
ecosystem.
>The "blue ribbon" wild rainbow trout fishery that you cherish and enjoy
>today is partially the result of the improvements in flow regime that have
>been made as a result of SOAC recommendations and WDFW's direct
>participation in this process.
>>
>> Obviously, we still have a long way to go to. In 1999, SOAC issued a
>Congressionally- mandated report recommending steps needed to develop
>scientifically-supported, "biologically (read ecologically) based flows" in
>the Yakima Basin. SOAC is currently working with USBR to implement the
>report recommendations. Members of SOAC and others are also
participating
>in another technical advisory committee that is developing an "Interim
>Operating Plan" for the Yakima Project under the umbrella of the Yakima
>River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP). This group is committed to
>developing a plan by mid-2001 with recommendations for improvements for
fish
>and wildlife. We are making continual progress, but presently, it is a
>gradual, incremental process with few, if any, drastic changes readily
>apparent to the general public.
>>
>> How is the Water Being Managed?
>>
>> There have been accusations made that water flows were manipulated during
>the recent spring chinook salmon fishery to benefit salmon fishermen at the
>expense of trout fishermen. This is absolutely untrue....no water releases
>were made to benefit (or hinder) any fishery. USBR's Yakima Project
>managers do not make water releases specifically to achieve any sport
>fishing objectives. SOAC made no recommendation to USBR to do so, either.
>The high flows that occurred in mid-June were solely the result of
increased
>inflow into already full storage reservoirs. High temperatures in mid-June
>caused high elevation snow pack in the Cle Elum River basin to melt sending
>a surge of water into Cle Elum Reservoir. Because the reservoir was
already
>full, USBR had no choice but to pass the inflow through the reservoir,
which
>caused the rapid increase (and subsequent rapid decrease) of flows in the
>Yakima River The increase in flows disrupted both the catch & release
trout
>fishery and the spring chinook fishery. Once the reservoirs are full, the
>fluctuations you see in the river are purely the result of fluctuations in
>unregulated inflow that can no longer be stored.
>>
>> Of greater concern to the trout fishing community should be the upper
>Yakima River flow regime during the summer when reservoir releases are made
>to meet lower valley irrigation demands. This practice accounts for the
>day-to-day high flows that occur all through the summer in the Yakima
Canyon
>and upstream to the confluence with the Cle Elum River, prior to SOAC's
>"Flip-flop" flow operation that occurs in early September to influence the
>placement of spring chinook salmon spawning redds. USBR makes these high
>releases because of legal (contractual) obligations to the basin irrigation
>districts. However, the high flows are the opposite of what would happen
in
>a normative, unregulated watershed---flows would decline through the summer
>at a time when resident trout, salmon and steelhead fry are in their first
>growing season. The higher than historic flows that occur because of
>reservoir releases from Keechelus and Cle Elum reservoirs actually reduce
>rearing habitat and food availability for juvenile salmonids.
>Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options available to SOAC and USBR to
>modify the current summer operation----and still be able to deliver
>contract-obligated irrigation water downstream. Nevertheless, SOAC and
WDFW
>will continue to work for improvements in the in-stream flow regime
>throughout the Yakima Basin where ever the opportunity occurs.
>>
>>
>> If you have further questions or comments regarding any of the
>topics/issues discussed above or any other related issue, please contact
>John Easterbrooks, the Region 3 Fish Program Manager, at (509)-457-9330.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Lew Atkins
>> Assistant Director
>> Fish Program
>>
>> LA:JE:dr
>>
>> cc: Fish & Wildlife Commission
>> Director's Office
>>
>>
>
>
