Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

SESSION 4

Nisqually Fall Chinook Harvest

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Fall Chinook Sport Fishery

•Highly anticipated by Washington sport anglers. •One of largest hatchery Chinook returns in PS. •Popular due to location (JBLM).•Anglers are successful from mid August through late

September. •Relatively few gear conflicts despite high sport effort. •Sport anglers are familiar with Treaty fishing

schedule and plan accordingly. •Effort is concentrated within a mile of Hwy 99.

2

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Sport Fishing Regulations

•1976; Two adult salmon per day July 1st – Jan 31st. •2006; Two adult salmon per day July 1st – Jan 31st,

release “wild” adult Chinook. •2009; Three adult salmon per day July 1st – Jan 31st,

two may be combination of pink, coho, or chum. Release “wild” adult Chinook.

•2010; Three adult salmon per day July 1st – Jan 31st, two may be combination of pink, coho, or chum. Release all “wild” Chinook.

3

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Fall Chinook Hatchery Release Adipose Fin Clip Rates (1990-2008)

4

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Fall Chinook Catch Record Card (CRC) In-River Sport Harvest Estimates (1992-2009).

5

19921993

19941995

19961997

19981999

20002001

20022003

20042005

20062007

20082009

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

AD UM Unk

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Fall Chinook In-River Sport Fishing Exploitation Rates (1992-2004).

6

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually River Fall Chinook In-River Sport Fishing Exploitation Rates (2005-

2009), Fishing Selectively.

7

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

AD UM

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Treaty Harvest Management for Recovery of Natural Chinook

• Conflicting goals: Rebuilding and Harvest Goals• Current exploitation trends• Nisqually Treaty Impact on natural Chinook• Nisqually Harvest Management for Rebuilding of natural

Chinook• Choices▫ Fish non-selective gear types

Achieve recovery goal Not achieve community harvest goal

▫ Fish Selective gear types Achieve recovery goal Achieve community harvest goal or exceed

• Selective Fishing technology• Questions?

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Conflicting Goals: Harvest and Recovery

• Long term Nisqually Community harvest goal: 10,000 to 15,000 Chinook: ▫32-48% treaty harvest rate if run size stays relatively

constant.

• Long term rebuilding exploitation rate goal on natural Chinook is 47%:▫The Nisqually harvest rate on natural Chinook will be

20%(6,200 Chinook) in order to achieve our part in the total exploitation rate of 47% if fishing non-selective.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Current Trends:

Puget Sound Sport mark selective fisheries:

▫Puget Sound sport fisheries impact on unmarked Nisqually Chinook has been cut from roughly 15% to just under 7%(2007 and 2008).

▫This is good news for sport fisheries because it allows for extended seasons and expanded areas.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Unmarked Exploitation rates in 2007/08

1%

16% 0%

1%

2%

0%

1%

4%

0%

7%

0%

2%

3%42%

21%

Alaska

Canada

South of Falcon Ocean Troll (Non-Treaty)

North of Falcon Ocean Troll (Non-Treaty)

North of Falcon Ocean Troll (Treaty - CoastalTribes)

North of Falcon/Buoy 10 Sport (Non-Treaty)

Puget Sound Troll (Treaty - Puget SoundTribes)

Local Terminal Net (Treaty - Puget SoundTribes)

Local Terminal Net (Non-Treaty)

Puget Sound Sport (Areas 5-13) & LocalTerminal Net (Non-Treaty)

Out-of-Region Net (Non-Treaty - Straits)

Out-of-Region Net (Treaty - Straits)

Freshwater Sport (Non-Treaty - Nisqually River)

Extreme Terminal Catch (Nisqually In River Net)

Unmarked Chinook escaping all fisheries

Extreme Terminal Catch (Nisqually in River Net)

Unmarked Chinook escaping all fisheries

Canada

PS Sport

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Nisqually Treaty Impact on Natural Chinook

•Current interim rebuilding exploitation rate goal on natural Chinook: 65%

The Nisqually harvest rate of roughly 40% gets us to this exploitation goal.

•Actual exploitation rate as of 2010: 72% 2010 Nisqually treaty harvest rate: 52%

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Harvest Management into the Future• 2011: ▫ Interim exploitation rate on natural Chinook: 65%

Treaty harvest rate around 40% • 2012 and 2013: ▫ Interim exploitation rate on natural Chinook: 56%

Treaty harvest rate will be around 29% • 2014:▫ Rebuilding exploitation rate on natural Chinook: 47%

Treaty harvest rate needs to be 20% (6,200 Chinook non-selective). Well below our community tribal harvest goal of 10,000-

15,000. Leaving so many hatchery fish uncaught will compound the

issue of increased HORs on the spawning grounds.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

For the fishermen: Selective vs. Traditional

Potential outcome with selective gear: • Recover natural fish.• Harvest hatchery Chinook at 65% or more (20,000 hatchery Chinook)

equating to well above our community harvest goal of 10,000-15,000.

Outcome with Current gear: • 40% harvest rate equates to similar fishing schedule as last year. • The following two years fish an approximate schedule of 29% harvest rate:

▫ 6 - 24 hour periods in early August (6 days total). • In 2014 fishing an approximate harvest rate of 20% (6,200 Chinook):

▫ ~2 day fishery in early August.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Recover the Natural/Harvest the Hatchery

•95% of a very large Chinook run is hatchery, thanks to Clear Creek Hatchery.

• If Nisqually fishermen can master selectively harvesting hatchery fish it is possible to obtain a higher harvest goal than 15,000 if:▫Reduce release impacts on natural Chinook to 20%;▫Meet our hatchery rack return; and ▫Provide in river sport opportunity.

•When the natural run recovers our incidental harvest rate on the natural Chinook can go up.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Year 20%Hatchery Fish Unharvested Current

Hatchery Fish Unharvested

65%HOR20%NOR

Hatchery Fish Unharvested

2004 5,162 15,529 13,850 7,779 15,847 4,844 2005 5,341 16,780 11,066 11,352 16,922 5,199 2006 7,298 23,020 21,568 9,370 23,065 7,254 2007 8,371 25,702 22,996 12,241 26,123 7,950 2008 4,559 11,617 13,549 3,512 13,546 2,629 2009 4,460 13,552 14,004 4,251 14,311 3,700 2010 8,243 29,243 21,403 16,529 26,267 11,219

average 6,205 19,349 average 16,919 9,291 average 19,440 6,114

Current Fishing Selective FishingNon-Selective Fishing

Hypothetical Catch #s with Different Harvest Rate Scenarios

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Technology:• Selective fishing is a technology that will allow treaty

commercial harvesters the choice to catch a lot more Chinook into the future just as monofilament net and boat motors have done in the past.

• Selective fishing techniques:▫ Floating trap with live boxes in traditional set net areas in the

estuary?▫ Tangle set net?▫ Tangle drift net?▫ Traditional drift gill net?▫ Temporary wooden weirs with dip nets???▫ Hoop traps?

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

Yelm Jim and George Leschi Fishing Traditional Technology.

Nisqually Chinook Annual Review

?????????????Questions????????????

End of Session 4