Summary and Analysis of Columbia River Harvest Reform Activities 2009
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Summary and Analysis of Columbia River Harvest Reform Activities 2009 – 2017; including Transition Period 2013-2016 and 2017 Policy Review by Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (2018 mainstem commercial fishery data included) January 2019 i TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 29 ALTERNATIVE GEAR FEASIBILITY EVALUATIONS ........................................................ 30 Beach Seine - Summer .................................................................................................................. 33 Purse Seine - Summer ................................................................................................................... 40 Purse/Beach Seine – Late Spring (American Shad) ..................................................................... 46 Arrow Net – Summer/Fall ............................................................................................................ 50 Commercial Hook and Line – Summer/Fall ................................................................................. 55 Beach Seine - Fall ......................................................................................................................... 60 Purse Seine - Fall .......................................................................................................................... 62 Coho Tangle Net - Fall ................................................................................................................. 64 Floating Fish Trap - Fall ............................................................................................................... 69 Commercial Troll - Fall ................................................................................................................ 76 Pound Net - Fall ............................................................................................................................ 80 Tributary Weir - Fall ..................................................................................................................... 88 Columbia Gorge Fish Wheel ........................................................................................................ 94 Assessment of Alternative Gears .................................................................................................. 97 ALTERNATIVE GEAR POST-RELEASE MORTALITY EVALUATIONS ......................... 101 Fall Seine Mortality Study .......................................................................................................... 102 Zone 5 Fall Chinook Stock Composition Study ......................................................................... 110 Coho Tangle Net Mortality Study............................................................................................... 115 Pound Net Mortality Study ......................................................................................................... 124 ALTERNATIVE GEAR FISHERIES IMPLEMENTATION ................................................... 124 Fall Seine Fishery ....................................................................................................................... 125 Coho Tangle Net Fishery ............................................................................................................ 151 CURRENT SELECT AREA FISHERIES.................................................................................. 159 Smolt Releases ............................................................................................................................ 161 Fishery Seasons, Landings, and Ex-Vessel Value ...................................................................... 166 ii ESA Impacts ............................................................................................................................... 174 Economics 175 Youngs Bay Closure Zone .......................................................................................................... 179 Select Area Recreational Fisheries ............................................................................................. 182 EXPANDED AND NEW SELECT AREA EVALUATIONS .................................................. 184 Expansion of Existing Select Area Seasons ................................................................................ 184 Expansion of Existing Select Area Boundaries .......................................................................... 187 Development of New Select Area Fisheries ............................................................................... 194 RECREATIONAL FISHERIES ................................................................................................. 212 Recreational Effort ...................................................................................................................... 212 Recreational Catch ...................................................................................................................... 218 ESA Impacts/Catch Balancing .................................................................................................... 221 Effect of Harvest Reform Allocation Changes on the Recreational Fishery .............................. 225 MAINSTEM COMMERCIAL FISHERIES .............................................................................. 243 Fishery Seasons, Landings, and Ex-Vessel Value ...................................................................... 244 ESA Impacts/Catch Balancing .................................................................................................... 251 Economics 257 Comparative Commercial Gear Analysis ................................................................................... 262 HARVEST REFORM POLICY EFFECTS ON COMMERCIAL FISHERY ECONOMICS .. 278 KEY FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................... 289 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 295 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1a. Summer beach seine evaluation test fishing summary, 2011-2014. ........................ 36 Table 1b. Condition of adult salmonids captured in beach seines during the summer seine evaluation, 2011-2014.............................................................................................. 38 Table 1c. Capture method and condition of Sockeye salmon caught in beach seines during the summer seine evaluation, 2011-2014. ..................................................................... 38 Table 2a. Summer purse seine evaluation test fishing summary, 2011-2014. ......................... 42 Table 2b. Condition of adult salmonids captured in purse seines during the summer seine evaluation, 2011-2014.............................................................................................. 44 Table 2c. Capture method and condition of Sockeye salmon caught in purse seines during the summer seine evaluation, 2011-2014. ..................................................................... 44 Table 3a. Late spring American Shad purse and beach seine evaluation test fishing summary, 2011-2012 and 2016. ............................................................................................... 47 Table 3b. Condition of adult salmonids caught during the late spring American Shad purse seine evaluation, 2011-2012 and 2016. ............................................................................. 48 Table 4a. Arrow net evaluation test fishing summary, 2013-2014. ......................................... 52 Table 4b. Capture method and condition of adult salmonids caught during the arrow net evaluation, 2013-2014.............................................................................................. 53 Table 5a. Summary of a hypothetical mark-selective fall commercial salmon fishery in the Columbia River estuary modelled with hook and line gear, 2010-2014. ................ 56 Table 5b. Summary of hypothetical commercial summer Chinook fisheries in the lower Columbia River modelled with hook and line gear. ................................................ 59 Table 6. Fall beach seine evaluation test fishing summary, 2009-2012. ............................... 60 Table 7. Fall purse seine evaluation test fishing summary, 2009-2012. ................................ 62 Table 8a. Coho tangle net evaluation test fishing summary, 2009-2011. ................................ 65 Table 8b. Condition of adult salmonids caught during the Coho tangle net evaluation, 2009- 2011.......................................................................................................................... 66 Table 9. Floating fish trap evaluation test fishing summary, 2009-10 and 2016. .................. 74 Table 10a. Commercial troller evaluation test fishing summary, 2010. ...................................