HOOK AND FUR: What's the death rate of hooked-and-released fish?

By Bob Brown

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced a three-year hook and line, capture and release study is underway on the Cowlitz River to determine whether fish live or die when hooked by anglers.
This is the first year of the study to determine the mortality of salmon and steelhead when hooked and released by anglers using barbed or barbless hooks, bait or fly, as well as fishing methods such as fly or pole fishing.
The information gathered by the study, which is being conducted by Mt. Hood Environmental of Boring, Ore., will be used to help improve the accuracy of hooking mortality estimates used to manage salmon and steelhead sport fisheries throughout the Columbia basin and its tributaries, according to WDFW.
Lead researcher Ian Courter of Mt. Hood Environmental said, “Our study planning process began when a group of Columbia Basin anglers contacted me and asked if I would develop a research project to examine the differences in survival rates for salmon and steelhead caught on barb and barbless hooks. Their concern was that barbless hook regulations may be causing anglers in harvest-oriented fisheries, like the Cowlitz, to experience reduced landing rates without providing a significant conservation benefit. It’s believed many fisheries are being overly constrained because fishery impacts on wild stocks have been over estimated.”
The study works with local anglers, who will know if they catch one of the study fish because two orange anchor tags will be protruding from their back on either side of the dorsal fin with a phone number and e-mail address. Drop boxes are available at the Blue Creek and barrier dam boat launches.
The tagged fish will be recovered at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator or by anglers.
The ultimate goal of the Cowlitz study is to support WDFW’s development of its statewide salmon and steelhead hooking mortality model. With the new information, the agency will be able to customize its estimates of catch and release fishery mortality rates throughout the state Courter said.

Fish and wolf updates

• Samplings taken on the Cowlitz River July 24-30 above the I-5 Bridge showed 61 bank rods kept seven spring chinook and two steelhead and released one jack and one adult spring chinook. Fifty-two boats (157 rods)  kept 48 steelhead and released one jack spring chinook and 10 cutthroat. No catches were recorded below the I-5 Bridge.
• WDFW announced that between July 20 and July 30, two wolves from the Smackout pack were lethally removed in an effort to change the packs behavior of recurrent depredation on area livestock, and as of Aug. 3 the agency was evaluating the impact of the removals on the pack’s behavior.
The department didn’t provide any details about the lethal action, including age, gender of the animals or how, when or where they were killed.  
Donny Martorelio, wolf-policy lead for the department, said there are no plans to remove ny set number of wolves. However, if depredations continue after the evaluation period, the department may authorize lethal removal of wolves from the pack, he said.
WDFW will provide a final report to the public on wolf-livestock interactions in the Smackout pack, including details about the lethal removal action after the summer grazing season, officials said.

Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be contacted at robertb1285@centurylink.net.