Idaho Fish and Game uses several fish traps to learn about wild salmon and steelhead trout. One such device is called a rotary screw trap. Several of these are floating in small streams across the central Idaho landscape. Seasonal employees come from across the country to tend the traps. For many, this is their first experience in a swiftwater environment.
Crew safety is always the number one consideration. Swiftwater training provides some basic skills to confront challenges the trap tenders may encounter while performing their duties. Fish trap crews gather, from across Idaho, to train during late winter. This is when most of the traps start sampling salmon and steelhead trout. Lessons are tailored to the unique nature of the work and the environment in which it occurs. This short film highlights some of the training.
A scoop trap is another type of fish trap used to sample salmon and steelhead trout. Such a trap operates in the middle of the Lower Salmon River each spring. Like the smaller fish traps, this 50-foot-long trap requires a special set of skills. Specifically, trap tenders must learn to safely navigate a jetboat to access it. In addition, learning the skills to avoid colliding with rocks and floating large woody debris is required. Crews must also be able to collect floating objects while in the boat.
Besides this formal training, crews continue to hone their skills throughout the fish trapping season. Many of the skills they acquire here will remain valuable if they continue to work, live, and play around swiftwater environments.
