471 



What should be done is obvious. Keep the 1993 harvest rate the 

 same or lower than last year. That will allow fishermen to 

 harvest 16.5 percent of the run - the same as 1992. Because the 

 overall run size is up, the number of fish caught will still 

 increase, but the number of fall chinook passing Lower Granite 

 Dam will increase also. 



Increasing the 

 harvest rate is like 

 eating the "seed 

 com" for future 

 runs. 



The Bigger Picture 



But simply holding down the river harvest doesn't really address 

 the problem, because most of the Snake River fall chinook are 

 caught in the ocean, not the river. NMFS estimates that over 

 half of the fall chinook caught in the ocean are taken by British 

 Columbia fishermen. 



Indeed, there's a long line of sport, commercial and tribal 

 fishermen extending through southeastern Alaska, Canada, 

 Washington and Oregon, all seeking a share of the harvest. 

 Clamping down on river harvesten without addressing ocean 

 harvesters merely punishes the last in line. 



Or, to use the weight loss analogy, it would be like pigging out 

 during breakfast aiKl lunch and trying to make up for it by 

 skipping dinner. In order to be effective, the program has to 

 address the total picmre and all efforts must contribute to an 

 overall goal. 



In the case of the Snake River fall chinook, the overall goal 

 should be getting more salmon past Lower Granite Dam, where 

 they have an unobstructed path to spawning grounds. 



Biologists and others refer to the number of fish getting to the 

 spawning ground as escapement. In the long term, establishing 

 an escapement goal at Lower Granite Dam has a big advantage 

 over focusing on harvest rates. For one thing, it's simpler. 



Fighting Over Fish 



One reason harvest management is so complicated is the fact 

 that it is governed by three sets of regulations. 



NMFS and the states approve the harvest rate in the Columbia 

 and Snake, but have limited authority over Canadian ocean 

 harvest - where most of the Snake River fall chinook are 

 caught. 



