December 20, 2013 — Smelt dippers may have limited opportunities this season to net the once-plentiful fish.
The Washington and Oregon departments of fish and wildlife are investigating whether to offer both sport and commercial dipping, according to Ron Roler, Columbia River policy coordinator for the Washington DFW.
“Just being optimistic, I think we’ll have something,” Roler told the bistate Columbia River Recreational Advisor Group this week.
The agencies hope to have a rule in place before this winter’s smelt run, Roler said in an interview Thursday. The run can appear as early as December, though the fish more show up in local rivers in January or February.
Smelt were listed as threatened by the National Marine Fisheries Service in May 2010 after the Cowlitz Indian Tribe petitioned for the listing. Commercial and sport dipping was banned thereafter by the two states.
In the few years preceding the ESA listing, smelt dipping was poor, though a limited number caught for study. Bringing back that source of research data is one reason fishery managers are considering resumed dipping, Roler said.
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