Key Avian Predation Management Question: Is Steelhead Mortality Due To Terns, Cormorants Additive Or Compensatory?
September 11th, 2020
The fish-eating sea birds on East Sand Island in the Columbia River estuary have been the target of management actions to reduce the number of double-crested cormorants and Caspian terns since the middle of the last decade.
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Science Panel Suggests Task Force As Focal Point For Battling ‘Inevitable’ Spread Of Northern Pike In Columbia River Basin
August 13th, 2020
An independent science panel has suggested the creation of a regional task force to be the focal point for efforts to battle the spread of northern pike when the voracious predator “inevitably” spreads in the Columbia River downstream from Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams.
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Looking For Sources Of Imnaha River Steelhead Mortality, A Discovery: Huge Numbers Of PIT-Tags At Great Blue Heron Rookery
July 30th, 2020
To get a better idea of how much predation plays in steelhead populations, a couple of Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries biologists began looking for clues at a heron rookery on northeast Oregon’s Wallowa River.
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GUEST COLUMN: Well-Planned Efforts To Reduce Cormorant Impacts On Columbia River Basin Salmonids Can Be Developed
July 9th, 2020
Last month, the Columbia Basin Bulletin published an article about the recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement related to management of double-crested cormorants.
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Researchers Quantify Relationship Between Caspian Tern Predation Rates On Upper Columbia River Juvenile Steelhead And Returning Adult Fish
July 2nd, 2020
Caspian tern predation on steelhead smolts in the Columbia River has reduced the size of the juvenile migration by more than 20 percent each year also has reduced the number of adult steelhead that return to the river several years later.
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USFWS Proposes New Rule For Killing Fish-Eating Cormorants; Would Allow Major Increase In Allowable Take On West Coast
June 18th, 2020
The federal agency responsible for protecting sea birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is instead proposing to “responsibly manage” double-crested cormorants across the nation by permitting lethal taking of birds that eat fish, such as salmon and steelhead smolts, by states and tribes.
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Lake Pend Oreille Sees Highest Kokanee Density In Two Decades, Over 2.5 Million Fish; Low Point 10,000 Fish In 2007
June 11th, 2020
Fisheries researchers estimated that over 2.5 million adult kokanee occupied Lake Pend Oreille in the fall of 2019. This is the highest count on record since the mid-1990’s. As summer heats up, reports are starting to roll in that anglers are reaping the benefits of a highly abundant kokanee population.
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Lake Trout Being Netted In Idaho’s Stanley Lake To Reduce Predation Risk For Kokanee, Snake River Sockeye
June 11th, 2020
Idaho Fish and Game has contracted with a company to net lake trout in Stanley Lake during two-weeks in early June to reduce their population and reduce risk to endangered sockeye salmon populations. After the netting, sterile lake trout will be restocked in the summer and fall to continue to provide anglers a lake trout fishery at Stanley Lake.
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2019 Pinniped Predation Report: Sea Lions Take 3.3 Percent Of Salmon/Steelhead Run January Through May, Big Hit On Winter Steelhead
May 8th, 2020
Sea lions bit out a big chunk of the spring salmon and steelhead run in 2019, taking 3.3 percent of the fish passing Bonneville Dam, January through May.