Oregon and Washington fish managers voted Tuesday to keep closed, under permanent rules, the Columbia River commercial smelt fishery scheduled to open Dec. 1. Recreational smelt fishing in Washington was already closed and unlikely to reopen because of federal ESA listing of Columbia River eulachon as “endangered” in May of this year.
The states will be working with the National Marine Fisheries Service in developing and expanding research on the species, according to WDFW biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver, but there are currently no criteria for determining when or if smelt have returned to harvestable populations.
The fish are in trouble in Canada as well, Hymer said, but Alaska populations seem stable.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
