By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Reduced fish harvest helped generate a record return in 2001 of spawning chinook, pink and coho salmon to the Snohomish basin.
These record numbers bode well for salmon recovery this year, especially for Puget Sound chinook, which are listed as an endangered species. Chinook salmon in 2001 in the Snohomish system, including the Snohomish, Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers, reached their highest escapement — the number of fish returning to spawn — since at least 1965, tribal and state managers reported Monday.
Pink and coho salmon returning to spawn were also at record levels in the Snohomish, with pink totals reaching almost four times the previous high.
"Through great sacrifices by fishing communities, the tribal and state co-managers are allowing most of the returning salmon to reach their spawning grounds," said Terry Williams, commissioner of fisheries and natural resources with the Tulalip Tribes. "Now we are challenging the habitat to produce fish from these spawning salmon, and challenging ourselves to keep crucially important habitat restoration and protection efforts coming."
In the 1980s, salmon harvest rates were between the 60 percent to 70 percent range. Now, those harvest rates hover around the 25 percent mark.
The recent upturn in spawning salmon indicates that conservative harvest management plans are allowing large numbers of chinook to spawn to proliferate the species.
Snohomish chinook escapement for 2001 was estimated at 8,161 spawning fish. The average number through the 1960s and 1970s was about 5,000 fish per year. Between the 18-year-period from 1980 and 1998, that 5,000 fish figure was never reached. Since then, the escapement has exceeded 6,000 in 1998, 2000 and 2001.
Though the increasing numbers of salmon returning to spawn is positive news, the numbers can’t be taken as a sign that salmon recovery has been achieved, fish managers warn.
Efforts in salmon recovery are based on several factors, including harvest. But weather conditions, habitat and hatchery production also play a part, so this year’s numbers may not necessarily indicate a long-term trend.
One aspect of restricting fish harvest is recovery from that method produces faster results, said Curt Kraemer, state fish and wildlife biologist for the region that covers the Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers.
"It would benefit to grow large trees in the riparian zone but it may take 90 years for those to grow, so we look at differences in time scale," Kraemer said. "Really all reducing fish harvest is doing is buying us time in these other arenas to make the gains there.
"And now do we throw down the gauntlet on our other potential impactors? That’s the question the society gets to wrestle with collectively," Kraemer said. "It can be a hatchery issue, hydropower issue or habitat problem — all those play a role."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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