[env-trinity] Yurok Tribe Limits Spring Fishing

[Tom Stokely]

Yurok Tribe Limits Spring Fishing
http://www.tworiverstribune.com/2011/05/yurok-tribe-limits-spring-fishing/ 

In response to the decline of wild spring chinook salmon of the Klamath-Trinity Basin and concern regarding the status of green sturgeon, the Yurok Tribal Council has closed the spring fishery for three days per week, in addition to several other conservation regulations

“Closing the fishery is never an easy decision for our Council,” said Thomas O’Rourke, Yurok Tribal Chairman. “Our people depend upon these fish to feed their families. However, it was decided to make this sacrifice to provide for our great grandchildren and beyond.”This decision was made after gathering input from five public meetings, the Natural Resource Committee, and the Tribal Fisheries Program.

The Tribe is concerned that natural populations, primarily from the South Fork Trinity and Salmon Rivers, of spring Chinook are at low levels. Annual abundance of spring chinook from the South Fork Trinity has averaged about 120 fish during each of the past seven years. By comparison, more than 11,000 adult spring Chinook returned to the river to spawn in 1964.

Currently, there are no federal or state-coordinated conservation objectives guiding the harvest of spring chinook. However, the Yurok Tribe, consistent with its longstanding approach to harvest management, does not see this as a reason to not proactively protect weak stocks. The Tribe encourages co-managers that harvest this species to adopt similar regulations to protect these fish.

“It is not easy for our fishers to stay off the river, while other fisheries proceed without consideration for these imperiled fish,” Chairman O’Rourke said. “We encourage co-managers to work with us to protect these vital stocks, by adopting conservation measures similar to what we have done for several years.”

The Tribe also adopted several regulations to protect green sturgeon, in addition to the three-day per week closure. While population numbers are not available for this species, there is concern based upon degraded habitat conditions faced by these fish and the vulnerability of this stock to over-exploitation, given that they don’t spawn until they are nearly 17 years old.

Another component of the spring regulations requires that the dorsal fin be removed from all harvested spring chinook, so it is obvious that these are subsistence fish. As in past years, the Council adopted regulations making it illegal to sell or purchase spring Chinook.


For more information and to view the complete regulation change visit http://yuroktribe.org/departments/fisheries/fallharvest.htm
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