Comparisons of Over 60 Years of Winter Steelhead Trends at Two NW Rivers
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 12:00AM ;)
Skagit River steelhead harvests in 1951-60 averaged 15,000, nearly all wild. The 2001-10 combined harvests of wild and hatchery steelhead averaged 1,500. This loss coincides with a 1994-2007 average of 450,000 hatchery steelhead smolts planted annually in the Skagit - 6,235,000 total. At $1 per hatchery smolt, $6.23 million was spent in 14 years with resulting 90 percent loss of harvest once provided by wild steelhead 50 years ago.
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NF Umpqua River wild winter runs of steelhead without hatchery winter steelhead plants have remained stable for 64 years with a return average of 7,150 wild steelhead per year. Steelhead harvest has been similarly stable at 1,200 steelhead per year for 40 years. This record of sustainability has come at no public cost.
Rebuilding wild steelhead populations means more fishing opportunity.
Reader Comments (1)
Similar things happening for wild cutthroat and rainbows on the McKenzie after removing hatchery fish: http://oregonflyfishingblog.com/2014/06/16/mckenzie-river-trout-study-post-script/
What's the common thread here?