It is said that just above Bonneville Dam in Columbia River tribal fishermen are netting sockeye after sockeye from wood scaffolds anchored to large poles reaching over the water. Sockeye is listed as endangered in the Snake River in Idaho and for much of the past half-century the returns of sockeye have been meager at best in the Columbia River. This year the fish are returning in numbers that haven’t been seen since the mid 1950s. Both tribal and non-tribal commercial fishermen are being allowed a swipe at the run.
It is estimated that till date 1,000 sockeye have been caught in the lower river, which is open for commercial sockeye fishing for the first time in four years. It is told that the sportsmen get to keep two sockeye each a day through this weekend, while tribal scaffold fishing has no daily limits and is open year-round. Handful of commercial fishing boats lack the proper nets for sockeye because there’s so little opportunity to fish for them.
As for the price is concern the fishermen are getting good prices for freshly caught sockeye which is considered the best tasting fish the river has to offer. Yakama tribal fishermen Andrew Zack said about fish sales that he has been hitting it hard and he filled his coolers quick and figured he would better go and sell some. Yakama fisherman Lew George said he can’t recall seeing so many sockeye in the river. Biologist Ellis opined that more spills over dams, improved hatchery practices and strong survival rates among sockeye in the ocean are responsible for the large run.
