"Nisqually fishermen fish for winter chum for first time in seven years

Despite the brisk temperatures on a recent December morning, Nisqually Tribe fishers and families were nothing but smiles on the Nisqually River as they fished for winter chum for the first time in seven years, reaping the rewards of difficult management decisions to not fish when returns were bleak.

The annual projections for fisheries created each spring did not predict the momentous return of chum that the Nisqually Tribe is seeing this year.

“Based on our counts so far in Yelm Creek and other areas we survey, the returns are on track to be one of the biggest runs we have ever seen,” Craig Smith, salmon harvest manager for the Nisqually Tribe, said in a news release.

The last time the area experienced a similar run was in 2001. At the time, it was considered to be the biggest winter chum run of all time.

“We think this is possibly going to be even bigger,” Smith said in the release.

Not only were ocean conditions favorable, allowing many fish to return, the rains have come to bring the river up, creating many good side channels and sloughs that chum enjoy. More rain is needed to charge Muck Creek, as, even after the recent deluge, it remains dry.

Otherwise, counts were so favorable that a second fishery opened Dec. 22 that will end at noon on Christmas Day. Estimates indicate that more than 80,000 fish will be on the spawning grounds by the time the run is over... "

http://www.chronline.com/stories/nisqual...en-years,372487

Pretty sweet that the tribal fishermen get to fish on these while the river is closed for nontribal and the east side of MA13 was closed to Chum retention to protect these fish. What happened to our 50%? So we have one the biggest runs we have ever seen yet zero opportunity to fish on them. Great opportunity there WDFW!

Didn't you get the memo? 50% means nothing any longer so long as WDFW gets the "season we want." Perhaps you thought that WDFW still works for you? Wake up call: it doesn't.

Ok so why didn't we want a season on these fish then? I remember back when this was open it was a pretty popular fishery in the winter when little else was open. Even as many people fished chum as kings in the fall.

The "we" in "We want" is WDFW leadership. Has nothing to do with what the angling community desires.

Also, in the past the entire harvest of Nisqually chum was given to the Tribe. The NI share of the winter chum was shifted to the Fall Chum fishery. That doesn't mean that WDFW couldn't make some fish available. If the wanted to, which they don't.

WDFW is probably also concerned, at least on paper, for incidental catch of steelhead by the recs.

Remember, any state allocation could not have been taken prior, as there was not expected to be enough fish. The Nisqually opening was an emergency opening. While it is reasonable to allow the tribe to conduct testing and to take some for ceremonial and subsistence reasons, once they get that number taken, the exact amount should be allocated next to non-treaty fisheries. That is how 50-50 should work. But what I has happened in the past, when I inquired, is that the tribe simply stated they were expecting a certain return and were expecting to take a around 5800. The state felt that this would go into escapement, so rather than fight for us, they just kept it closed. They informed me later that it was a good thing, as the tribe just barely kept from going into escapement and not a fish was available to spare.

They probably will use the same justification, stating that if the tribe conducts its fishery as expected, there will be no room for any wild steelhead incidental catch left for the sports fisherman, so we can't fish.

We should all be worried, as if this is the way the state conducts openings and negotiations, we can just forget about fishing.
The truth is, if we got a full fishery, we would probably take about 3 to 5% or the catch at most, and likely much less. In that 2001 run they are taking about, the sports catch was a little over 2300. I can not find the tribes take, but did see an escapement report that seemed to indicate it was around 30,0000.

Can't really disagree. The fishery should operate in an equitable manner but won't. Unless the Nisqually chum run gets huge, I am rather sure it will mostly go to the folks that run the fisheries in WA.