Columbia River Fisheries Management Estimating Effort, Catch, and ESA Impacts in Recreational Fisheries
Columbia River Fisheries Management Recreational Fisheries Responsibilities: Estimate angler effort in Columbia River from Buoy 10 to OR/WA border Estimate angler effort in Willamette River to Falls Estimate catch by species (kept and released) and location Sample landed catch for biological data Estimate impacts to listed stocks Make fishery recommendations to fishery managers
Columbia River Fisheries Management Statistical Creel Program: Long-term Willamette 1946 Columbia 1968 Recreational Fisheries Developed by Dr. Overton and Dr. Land; OSU - Dept. of Statistics Modified in 1986 for species-specific estimates Joint Oregon and Washington Approximately 15-20 samplers Based on random / unbiased sampling Three main components: Effort Catch Biological data
EFFORT Aerial Flights Count bank rods (OR & WA) and boats by river section (1-10) ~80 midday flights/year (6-12 per month; February October) Weekdays and weekends Computer model expands for non-observed hours based on effort profiles developed from 1969-1983 Model incorporates tide, weather, and water conditions Average daily count expanded by day-type for # days in month Angler Interviews Date, interview location, river section, angler type, number of anglers in party, start-interview-quit times, catch data Boat Survey Weekly on-the-water survey throughout year to supplement creel data and determine state of origin
Astoria Bridge Buoy 10 10 9 8 Cowlitz River Washington N 7 Clatskanie River 6 Kalama River 5 Lewis River Pacific Ocean 4 I-5 Bridge Enlarged Area Oregon 3 Washougal River 2 1 Willamette River Sandy River Bonneville Dam (River Mile 146) Figure 1. Recreational Sampling Sections on the Columbia River Below Bonneville Dam
30000 Estimating Catch 25000 20000 Estimated Catch # Sampled Goal is to sample 20% of kept fish 15000 Angler catch is based on: Boat angler interviews (complete) - Catch rate = sum of catch by species / sum of total angler hours Bank angler interviews (incomplete) - Catch rate = sum of catch by species / sum of hours fished from start to interview time Collected data includes: - River section - # salmonids caught, kept, and released (adults and jacks by species) - # sturgeon kept and released by size - other catch Computer model generates weekly or monthly harvest estimates for each angler type and river section based on observed catch rate and total effort Total harvest = sum of individual estimates 10000 5000 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Estimated recreational fall Chinook catch and number sampled, 2000-2006
ANGLER TRIPS CHINOOK STEELHEAD COHO STURGEON River Section Total Salmonid Sturgeon Shad Adults Jacks Kept Rel'd Cutthroat Adults Jacks Whites Greens 1 9,834 445 9,389 139 3 12 2,944 2 2,471 1,716 755 43 4 347 12 91 3 455 455 45 4 1,011 407 604 28 5 963 171 792 105 6 666 209 457 9 9 9 90 7 647 566 81 71 5 8 1,283 445 838 62 41 9 205 127 78 10 Private 107 23 84 Charter Total 17,642 4,109 13,533 191 3 13 62 430 26 3,344 Total Catch & Effort By State Oregon 9,515 1,751 7,764 145 3 2 216 8 2,131 Washington 8,127 2,358 5,769 46 11 62 214 18 1,213
Estimating Catch Why Not Use Punch Cards? Complicated management requires real-time data to maximize recreational opportunity Harvest estimates based on punch cards tend to be biased high Data not area-specific No release information 30,000 25,000 20,000 Punch cards Creel 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Estimated Oregon LCR sport sturgeon harvest based on punch card and creel data, 1997-2001
Biological Data Data collected includes: Salmonids Fin and maxillary clips Visible tags Coded-wire tags (CWT) Scales Skin color and visual stock identification (VSI) Marine mammal marks Sturgeon Tags / Tag scars Scute marks
Management Considerations Upriver Spring Chinook Sliding Scale; 2.0% impact limit; Allocation set by Commissions Currently 57% sport / 43% commercial through 2007 Summer Chinook Not ESA-listed; Managed for escapement Non-treaty allocation <PR Dam set by Commissions Currently 50% sport / 50% commercial through 2007 Upriver Bright Fall Chinook 8.25% impact limit; Allocation via NOF Process per Commissions Approximately ~50% sport / 50% commercial in recent years White Sturgeon 3-year agreement for 2006-2008; 40,000 harvestable / year Allocated 80% sport / 20% commercial
Management Considerations Upriver CHS Willamette CHS Non-Indian Impact Limits Non-Indian Allocation <27K <0.5% 24K-39K 100% Sport 27K-32K 0.5% 40K-44K 85% Sport 33K-54K 1.0% 45K-49K 80% Sport 55K-81K 1.5% 50K-59K 76% Sport 82K+ 2.0% 60K-75K 73% Sport 76K+ 70% Sport
Recreational Impact Calculations Upriver Spring Chinook Preseason Non-Indian Impact Limit (2.0%) * Sport Allocation (57%) = Sport upriver CHS impact limit (1.14%) * Upriver run size (100,000) = 11,400 total upriver handle @ release mortality rate (10%) = Total upriver handle (11,400) * preseason upriver CHS mark rate (75%) = 8,550 kept upriver CHS allowed Inseason 10,000 CHS kept + 2,500 CHS released (from creel data) = 12,500 total CHS handle * 60% upriver stock (from VSI/CWT & inseason mark rate) = 7,500 upriver CHS handle * 10% release mortality / 100,000 upriver run size = 0.75% upriver impact / 1.14% allowable = 66% of allowable upriver CHS guideline If run size increases to 125,000. = 7,500 * 10% / 125,000 = 0.60% impact / 1.14% allowable = 53% of guideline If run size drops to 85,000. = 7,500 *10% / 85,000 = 0.88% impact / 1.14% allowable = 77% of guideline If run size drops to 80,000 = 7,500 *10% / 80,000 = 0.94% impact / 0.855% allowable = 110% of guideline
Recreational Impact Calculations URB Fall Chinook Preseason (2006 example) Non-Indian URB Impact Limit (8.25%) * Sport Allocation (50%) = Sport URB impact limit (4.12%) * Upriver bright run size (249,100) = 10,260 recreational URB harvest guideline = 23,000 fall Chinook guideline (based on preseason stock composition) Fishery # Chinook # URB s URB impact % URB allocation % Buoy 10 8,500 2,080 0.84% 20% LCR 13,800 7,750 3.11% 76% >Bonneville 700 430 0.17% 4% 23,000 10,260 4.12% 100%
Recreational Impact Calculations URB Fall Chinook Inseason (2006 example) Buoy 10 = 1,725 CHF kept @ 50% URB (CWT) = 870 URB kept / 225,900 = 0.39% LCR = 13,570 CHF kept @ 62% URB (CWT) = 8,420 URB kept / 225,900 = 3.73% > Bonn = 600 CHF kept @ 53% URB (CWT) = 320 URB kept / 225,900 = 0.14% 15,525 Chinook 9,310 URB kept 4.26%