Smelt’s annual return from the ocean has lengthy drawn 1000’s of dip-netters up and down the Cowlitz River. This yr, nevertheless, the prized custom can be completely different.
The Washington Division of Fish & Wildlife is implementing a brand new fishing license requirement, schedule and harvest philosophy.
The brand new technique goals to make it simpler for the company to implement harvest guidelines whereas additionally giving anglers extra discover about when they could be allowed to fish, in line with the company.
The shift comes after the yearly harvest was referred to as off in 2018, 2019 and 2023 resulting from low numbers.
Final yr’s run arrived in mid-February. About 8,000 anglers pulled 54,000 kilos of the silver fish out of the Cowlitz in simply 5 hours. A second day of fishing was allowed in March, nevertheless it solely yielded about 1,000 kilos.
The adjustments enable the division to regulate fishing schedules based mostly on smelt run sizes and knowledge from the business smelt fishery on the mainstem Columbia River, stated Laura Heironimus, the division’s Columbia River smelt lead.
Columbia River smelt, often known as eulachon, are listed as a threatened species beneath the Endangered Species Act. Which means fishery managers should monitor the run dimension.
And Fish & Wildlife knowledge reveals these runs have different wildly during the last 15 years.
Numbers rose from 2011 to 2014 touchdown at about 17 million kilos. Then fell to lower than a half-million in 2018, earlier than rising once more to a excessive in 2022. They’ve declined once more within the years since, touchdown at about 10 million kilos.
All these numbers are a fraction of their historic abundance.
The division expects two to 4 days of dip-netting this yr, although it cautioned that may very well be impacted by outdoors elements.
“We may also find that even when the run size appears large enough for sustainable harvest, natural factors like water conditions, timing and unpredictable migration patterns could mean smelt are not present in large numbers during days open to recreational dip-netting,” Heironimus stated.
Tentative schedule
The division will now announce the approaching week’s fishing alternatives by 3 p.m. the Friday earlier than.
For instance, the company will announce on Friday, Jan. 31 if fishing can be allowed on Wednesday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 8.
That info, together with guidelines and academic materials, can be posted at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/rules/smelt.
The division emphasised, nevertheless, that every little thing is dependent upon run dimension info collected on the mainstem Columbia River by business fishers. The division will seemingly restrict fishing to between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
One other change is that whereas the river may very well be open to smelt netting extra regularly, there could also be much less fish within the river when it’s allowed. That’s as a result of the harvest days have beforehand been picked by testing and occurred on days when there have been a lot of fish within the river. Now, there can be much less testing, and there could also be much less fish within the river on harvest days consequently.
Throughout accepted days, fishers could web as much as 10 kilos, or about one-fourth of a 5-gallon bucket. Fishers could solely web from shore and solely at accepted websites.
The division additionally stated it expects business fishing to be allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between Jan. 20 and March 13.
Confusion
Whereas information of the season could also be near-universal round Cowlitz County, the identical can’t but be stated in regards to the new license requirement.
Pam Underberg runs the sporting items part at Ace {Hardware} in Woodland, some of the well-liked locations to get fishing licenses within the space. She stated nobody has are available on the lookout for a license permitting them to web the fish.
“That might be a case that they have their freshwater or their combination (fishing license), and they feel that that’s covering it, which it does,” she stated. “But maybe the people that just smelt dip aren’t aware you need a license, or they’re from another state or country that aren’t aware that we need a license.”
Underberg stated if the division acquired the phrase out extra, it’s seemingly extra folks would have a license and fewer folks would find yourself being fined. Nobody from the division has are available to distribute literature or increase consciousness of the change, Underberg stated.
Regional division spokesperson Britton Ransford stated the company has labored to get the phrase out in regards to the change, however it may take time for “complex seasonal fisheries like Cowlitz River smelt.”
The company is intensifying its outreach efforts, he added.
“For those planning to dip for smelt this season, having a WILD ID — a free account used to purchase Washington fishing licenses — can make the licensing process smoother and quicker,” he stated. “It’s a small step that can help make things easier once tentative dates are approved.”
Industrial and leisure fishers can get licenses on-line, in individual at websites across the state or by calling the division at 360-902-2464.