The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CCT) will implement the Evaluation of Live-Capture, Selective Fishing Gears project in two phases.  Phase I will develop a study design (investigational methodologies and protocols) to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of different live-capture selective fishing gears to facilitate the harvest and use of Hatchery Origin Chinook, approximately May 1,  to October 31, 2007. Development of the scope of work for testing gear (Phase 2) will begin in the fall.  This contract will be modified to add additional work elements and funding to to implement Phase II.

It is anticipated that the CCT will be able to increase the harvest of the target species to those more consistent with their harvest allocation (June 5, 2007 agreement between WDFW and Colville Tribes)  , while protecting the other Natural Origin Recruits (NOR) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) ...  stocks.  Gear and effort designs analyzed in Phase I will be implemented and tested in Phase II.  Phase I will determine suitable gears and techniques to test in Phase II.  Phase II will enable the CCT to deploy specific gears in the Okanogan and Columbia rivers to test their use for Tribal harvest of ceremonial and subsistence fish.  Phase II will occur from 10/1/07 through 09/30/09 (or later if required).

The final study plan will include methodologies, protocols, and fishery study schedules that will direct the study.  The CCT plans to develop all of the expertise for this study "in-house" with staff positions that include the necessary Administrative and Policy-level functions of implementing the study; a project manager (lead biologist), several technicians and a Cultural coordinator (Ceremonial and Subsistence Provider) who will provide a liaison between the fishermen and staff and between the traditional, cultural and modern selective fishing methodologies and assist with facilitation for meetings and workshops.  Assistance from consultants and coordination with other agencies and tribes through the outreach and education elements will allow the CCT to keep on the cutting-edge of techniques used elsewhere that will apply to this project's increased effectiveness. The CCT are working cooperatively with the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Action Agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to investigate and develop live-capture, selective harvest techniques and guidelines that minimize impacts to NOR and ESA populations while attempting to meet and maintain CCT ceremonial and subsistence needs.  Grand Coulee Dam (completed in 1942) and Chief Joseph Dam (completed in 1961) created two impassable barriers to upstream fish migration in the upper Columbia River.  In addition, anadromous fish losses caused by the four lower Columbia River federal dams (Bonneville, the Dalles, John day, and McNary dams) have not been restored to the primary fishing areas of the CCT.

Many types of selective fishing gears are available and a variety of these are expected to be successful for capturing Chinook.  In 2004, the CCT initiated a study to review and recommend selective gears for the potential collection of broodstock for the Chief Joseph Hatchery Program (Mobrand Biometrics, Inc., 2004).  Based on this report, gear experts for the beach seine, tangle net, gill nets, and fish wheels conducted site assessments in the upper Columbia and Okanogan rivers in 2005 to further evaluate potential gear applications and identify strategic deployment locations (Smith and Nass, 2005).  further, the CCT conducted an assessment of the feasibility to operate a semi-permanent picket weir on the Okanogan River to count and trap adult salmon (Nass et al. 2006).  This evaluation was conducted as part of the Okanogan Basin Monitoring and Evaluation Program (OBMEP) and concluded that a weir could be successful at a specific site and for a specific range of conditions.  Also in 2005, a radio telemetry study (Ashbrook et al. 2006) was carried out to evaluate natural Chinook migration and movement patterns.  The results of that study showed key holding areas for Chinook, and consequently indicated areas with good potential for capturing fish selectively for broodstock collection.  Aspects of the recommendations made by fishing gear experts and the results of the radio telemetry study were incorporated into the design of a two year study to use live-capture gear to collect broodstock in areas near to and within the Okanogan River (Waldbillig et al. 2007).

The Brood collection study will be repeated in 2007, and there are several aspects of that study that integrate with the Selective Fishing Gears study:  1) Study of post-release survival; 2) minimize by-catch; 3) increase catch efficiency; and 4) determine potential to use the same gear, personnel and location/run timing for both selective harvest and brood collection.

There are also parts of the Brood Collection Study that are clearly different than the Selective Fishing Gear evaluation:  1) Most simply, the objective of the Brood Collection is to keep fish alive for spawning while the Fishing Gears study is designed to provide harvest to the CCT Tribal Members; 2) the budget for the broodstock gear study was limited by the overall Chief Joseph Dam Hatchery allocation so we could not investigate some of the promising, but more expensive, selective harvest gears (e.g., larger stationary traps and new fishwheels); and 3) geographic location - Brood collection was purposefully limited in scope only to those areas where fish would/should be collected for brood and other areas where selective fishing gear should be used for harvest were not included in the brood study (e.g., in the Columbia River upstream from the Okanogan confluence).   Show More