140 fish for NF to Ellis? Someone at fish and game needs to pull their head out and give us some support for this fishery to get a chance at a real season. How long do you think it will take to harvest 140 fish in this section when the fish are stacked in there? That's what I thought, about a day. Good to see that everyone else from the Pacific to Western Idaho got a chance to fish again this year. Proof is in the numbers, Pahsimeroi fish never get a chance to return and are harvested through out the system until there are none left for those of us that fish the upper reaches. Your theory that no one touches them because pit tag data proves they come up later after those seasons are closed does not hold up. Where are they going when the other fish stocks don't seem to be disappearing?
Answer:
We wish the returning adult Chinook numbers were only influenced by angling. That would make our jobs much easier. Truth is, we knew two years ago that the Chinook numbers returning to Pahsimeroi Hatchery would be low in 2014. PIT tag information collected at Lower Granite Dam in the spring of 2012 indicated we had poor survival of the smolt between Pahsimeroi and Lower Granite Dam. Numbers looked even worse when the Pahsimeroi to Bonneville Dam information was analyzed.
Why? Frankly, we don't know. It could have been caused by a disease out-break or a nutrietional deficiency about the time of release. We were hoping low survival numbers generated by PIT tag detections in 2012 were caused by poor tagging practices at the hatchery (if PIT tags are improperly inserted, they will be shed by the fish).
Producing anadromous fish for sportsmen in Idaho is complicated and many of the variables affecting survival/returns are out of our control. All we can do is deal with the items we can influence - such as the quality of the fish leaving our hatcheries. We are always trying new technology, diets, and rearing practices that improve survival of the fish on their downstream journey. We will continue working to increase the return of Chinook for sportsmen to the Pahsimeroi.
Answered on:
Monday, July 14, 2014 - 7:15 AM MDT