211 



DRAFT 



Columbia River Fisheri es rpage 13) 



The authors summarize Columbia River fisheries with a single paragraph comparing 

 1990 harvests to 1989 harvests. In this discussion, the authors have transposed two 

 numbers for the 1989 catch (864,000 versus 846,000 actual). The next comparison is 

 of 1990 harvests to the peak landings (several years between 1883 and 1928). Finally, 

 they refer to their Table 1. 1-10 which states that all Columbia salmonids except fall 

 Chinook are declining (please refer to the review of tables and figures later in this 

 document). The discussion mentions closed seasons for summer chinook and sockeye 

 but fails to acknowledge long-standing closed seasons for upriver spring chinook and 

 lower river commercially-caught steelhead. 



Commercial Net Fishery (pages 13-14) 



These paragraphs review data contained in Tables 1.1-11, 1.1-12, and 1.1-13 (please 

 refer to the review of tables and figures later in this document). The comparisons are 

 mostly accurate but provide little useful information. The authors erred in the 1990 

 Chinook catch as "only 640,000 chinook salmon were landed..." If this were true it 

 would be the largest landing since 1948. Only 64,000 chinook salmon were landed in 

 1990. The authors have also confused the number of gill-net licenses with the number 

 of fishermen. They describe the number of gill-net licenses as increasing slightly and 

 then use the exact same data to mean number of fishermen, stating a range and then 

 deciding there is a decline. 



The authors compared the poor 1990 catch and effort (open fishing days and licenses) 

 to the excellent 1986 catch and effort, noting there were only six more licenses in 

 1986, yet 4 less open days, and surmised: 



"Reduced run size appears to be the cause of the reduced commercial 

 catch of 1990. " 



The 1986 Columbia River salmonid return was estimated at 3.2 million fish, the largest 

 return since Bonneville Dam was completed in 1938. The 1990 return was the lowest 

 since the early 1980's (ODFW and WDF 1991). 



Indian Net Fisherv (pages 14-15) 



These four paragraphs describe treaty Indian commercial landing trends from 1960 to 

 present p^ catch years. This section accurately describes the demise of the tribal 

 fishing grounds at Celilo Falls in 1957 ending tribal fishing that occurred for millennia 

 but then goes on to compare their near zero catch in 1960 to the high catch level now 

 Tribal fishers did not perfect the technique of set-netting in slack water pools until mid- 

 1960s. 



A-5 



