50% steelhead take using gill nets

The NezPeirce tribe anounced that since the steelhead runs have been getting bigger last year and this year, they are working on a plan to harvest up to 50% of steelhead native and hatchery. I hope this is an attempt to posture and get Fish and game to improve the salmon runs.

Here is the article from the Jan 25 ClearWater Tribune.

Orofino Chamber opposes Nez Perce Tribe gill netting

In an open letter, the Orofino Chamber of Commerce expressed adamant opposition to the Nez Perce Tribe?s recent announcement of gill netting as part of its stepped up harvest on the abundant steelhead run.

In a recent press release from the Tribal Executive Committee, 7-inch mesh gill nets, hoop nets, gaff, dipnets, spear and hook and line gear types were all identified as options tribal fishermen could employ to harvest the steelhead which could then be made available for sale.

As outlined in the release, the Tribe reserved extremely strong fishing rights for Chinook, steelhead and other fish within the Snake River Basin in treaties which ceded much of Northcentral Idaho, Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington to the United States.

The fishing rights apply to on-reservation and off-reservation usual and accustomed fishing areas, and the right allows for shared harvest, or a 50:50 split with the non-tribal fishermen.

The Orofino Chamber of Commerce letter of opposition argues that the Tribe?s program is going forward without a permit process that the Tribe itself requires. It goes on to state that the program has not been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service and that the Idaho Fish and Game is in disagreement with the program.

?The harvest of wild fish will dramatically harm the returns of steelhead in the future,? states the Chamber letter. ?If the Nez Perce Tribe is concerned with maintaining wild runs of fish, they would not be harvesting 50%. Ideally, a large number of those fish would be left in the river to ensure future runs. For this reason, non-Indian fishermen are prohibited from keeping wild fish.?

The Tribe asserts that in recent years the steelhead returns over Lower Granite Dam have numbered over 130,000 annually with 80% of those being harvestable, hatchery fish.

They contend that for the most part, those fish have been harvested by non-tribal fishers. The Tribe?s recent proposal, they say, would provide a fishery that would share that harvest with the non-tribal fishers in a manner more consistent with its allocation reserved under the treaties.


I hate mass harvest means on our rivers and if you ever saw Gaff Hooks you would cringe. I just do not know. I hope the tribe is still looking to get the lower dams breached with this effort. Then again, they do have a legal right. But how about 30%, 20%?

This would not only wipe out the fish but it would really damage the tourist industry in the area.
I hit the clearwater a couple of times a year and know a quite a few others that hit it also. We all drop a quite a bit of money between motels meals gas and gear.The fishing goes to far south and that money will go away quickly.that would probably make the local fishermen happy but local business might have a different take on it.
The tribes and fish and wildlife really need to work together and solve this problem.I don't mind someone keeping fish to feed their family but I get a little peeved when I see someone selling steelhead/salmon out of the trunk of their car or selling fish to a commercial operation.