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Portland, Oregon
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The four Columbia River treaty tribes opened the commercial sales
of local, fresh summer chinook (historically called "June Hogs"
because of their size) at 6 a.m. today. Tribal fishers will be providing
summer chinook, steelhead, and sockeye directly to the salmon-loving
public.
Pack the cooler with ice and enjoy the drive up the Columbia River
Gorge. Tribal fishers may be found selling fish at a number of locations
along the river: Marine Park at Cascade Locks, Lone Pine at The
Dalles and the boat launch near Roosevelt, Washington. Commercial
sales will not occur on Corps of Engineers property at Bonneville
Dam.
“The tribal fishers are excited to share the tribal fishery
with the public,” said Paul Lumley, executive director of
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). “The
fishery helps tribal fishers support their families and local economies
through commercial sales while providing a high-quality product
to consumers.”
The current forecast of summer chinook is 88,800. Tribal fishers
will be able to harvest approximately 25,500 summer chinook, most
of which will be sold commercially. Treaty and non-treaty fisheries
catches will be adjusted throughout the season as the run size progresses.
Tribal and non-tribal harvest rates have been agreed to as part
of the U.S. v. Oregon Management Agreement.
The upper Columbia River’s summer chinook populations are
considered healthy and not listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Most of the fish returning under the current run are destined to
the Wenatchee, Methow and Okanagan river systems.
A large forecast of 125,200 sockeye salmon is also headed for
the Okanagan River. Sockeye are only available to the fishery for
a short period since most of the sockeye run will be upstream by
mid-July.
The tribal fishery is protected under 1855 treaties with the federal
government, where the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, Confederated Umatilla Tribes, and Nez Perce Tribe reserved
the right to fish at all usual and accustomed fishing places in
the Columbia River Basin—a treaty right that reserves ceremonial,
subsistence and commercial uses.
To find out where the day’s catch is being sold, call CRITFC’s
salmon marketing program at (888) 289-1855 or visit the website
http://www.critfc.org/harvest.
Price is determined at the point of sale and sales are cash only.
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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