Upper Salmon River Chinook Season Possible

For the first time in nearly thirty years, anglers in Idaho may have the chance to fish for chinook salmon on the Upper Salmon River. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and federal isheries authrorities have reached an agreement that would allow anglers to harvest surplus hatchery summer and spring chinook returning to the Pahsimeroi Fish Hatchery and the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. The general framework of the plan includes consideration of a 45-mile stretch of the Salmon River from the Lemhi River to the Pahsimeroi River, and a seven-mile stretch from Valley Creek to the Sawtooth Hatchery. The plan will only be implemented if and when numbers of returning hatchery and naturally produced chinook prove to be adequate. State and Federal collaboration is necessary because Chinook salmon returning to the upper Salmon River are listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act. "We are pleased that public fishing can be restored in these areas without compromising salmon recovery" said Rob Jones, Chief of Hatcheries and Inland Fisheries/Salmon Recovery Division for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Under the new plan, hatchery fish that are surplus to broodstock needs would be available for harvest. Anglers would be allowed to target adipose fin-clipped summer and spring chinook salmon returning to the Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth hatcheries. The Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth hatcheries produce fish as compensation for fishing opportunity and salmon habitat lost because of hydroelectric development. The Pahsimeroi Hatchery, on the Pahsimeroi River near Ellis is funded by Idaho Power Company. The Sawtooth Hatchery, on the headwaters of the Salmon River near Stanley is funded by the Lower Snake River Compensation Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, using Bonneville Power Administration funds. Both hatcheries are operated by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and were developed to provide fishing opportunities. Biologists from IDFG and NOAA Fisheries believe salmon recovery and salmon sport fishing can be accomplished under the new plan. "We believe the number of hatchery fish coming back this year will be large enough to allow anglers to harvest them without jeopardizing ESA-listed stocks" sSharon Kiefer, IDFG Anadromous Fisheries Manager, said. "NOAA has finalized a permit that meets requirements of the Endangered Species Act to sufficiently protect ESA-listed fish and still allows us to provide fishing opportunity on surplus hatchery fish." Anglers must release chinook salmon that are not adipose fin clipped. The department will monitor catch of salmon using the same techniques employed to manage other Salmon River chinook fisheries since 2001. There are six populations of chinook salmon in the upper Salmon River, and fishing regulations this year and in the future will depend on the health of those populations. Before public fishing is allowed on the upper Salmon River, natural populations must meet or exceed established critical levels and the Fish and Game Commission must set a season. The number of chinook passing Lower Granite Dam usually peaks around the end of April. From there, salmon still have more than 400 miles to travel to the Pahsimeroi Hatchery, and nearly 500 miles to the Sawtooth Hatchery. Biologists will have to wait until May or early June to make a final determination about whether enough fish are in the river system to justify a fishery. Once adequate numbers of wild and hatchery fish are documented, fishery options will be submitted to the Fish and Game Commission for approval. For more information, see the NOAA Fisheries website at: www.nwr.noaa.gov