Fish managers will take up researching alternatives to gillnets later this year. The Washington and Oregon departments of fish and wildlife have allocated $400,000 to test three kinds of nets: beach seines, purse seines and Merwin traps. Pat Frazier, a WDFW manager leading the study, opined that if one or more of the fishing techniques prove feasible, the Columbia River commercial fishery might start using them about five years from now.
The main purpose of the study is to find new alternatives for commercial fishermen to catch more hatchery fish, so they don’t compete with wild fish. It is said that with seines and traps, fishermen can examine the catch in the water, keeping fin-clipped hatchery fish and releasing wild ones. Gillnets trap fish in their mesh, and commercial fishermen can’t see them until they’ve been hauled on deck. By that time, wild fish that must be released may be injured too badly to survive.
The research is said to minimize fish injuries and evaluate their cost and effectiveness. Frazier described purse seines as “a bag in the water.” The net with fish inside is drawn to a boat, not to shore. He added that among other alternatives such as fish traps, which are nets attached to pilings, or fish wheels might be tested in the future if funding is available.
