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Chapter 2: HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERY 

 RESOURCES AND HABITATS 



The history of Chehalis Basin fish runs and habitats is one of pristine 

 productivity, then gross degradation, followed by partial recovery. The 

 recorded hiBtory has seen several revolutions in fishing methods and areas, 

 and in industries and processes affecting fish habitat. In the first several 

 decades of this century, unregulated log transport and fishing, overlapping in 

 time with inadequate water pallution control in the inner Harber, contributed 

 to declining salmon and steelhead catches in the Grays Harbor area. 



In response, the State imposed fishing regulations and later saw to the 

 removal of splash dams (see discussion on logging later in this chapter) and 

 restocked the streams behind them. Research into habitat quality began in 

 1940 and prompted a series of water cleanup efforts that continue (Pine and 

 Tracey 1971; Seller 1989). Unfortunately, this did not promote a speedy 

 recovery of fish stocks and a long period of depressed terminal catches 

 followed. 



All the while, increasing marine interception may have masked potential 

 recovery of coho and Chinook (John Campbell, Weyerhaeuser Corp., pers. coma.). 

 During the 1950s, chum salmon joined chinook, coho, and steelhead on the list 

 of depressed runs (Ward ec al. 1971), and steelhead catch monitoring had been 

 discontinued (WDW unpublished records), adding to the frustration. 



Accurate catch and escapement monitoring began around 1969. The 1970s brought 

 about an era of increasing understanding of the fishery and habitat resource, 

 and increasing participation by all groups having a stake in those resources. 



Since catch is a result of fishing efficiency, environmental conditions, and 

 fish production, this report will provide a history of fishing on Chehalis 

 Basin runs, a brief description of the Basin's environmental history, and a 

 history of hatcheries. 



HISTORY OF FISHING ON CHEHALIS BASIN SALMON AND STEELHEAD 



The history of fishing for salmon, and to a lesser degree, steelhead, has seen 

 a growing diversity of fishing gear and expansion of fishing areas. Fishing 

 on Chehalis Basin runs progressed seaward as each new fishery became the first 

 to intercept fish along the migratory path of returning adults. Ultimately, 

 Chehalis Basin fishery managers lost their ability to ensure a surplus of fish 

 for harvest and spawning within the Chehalis River Basin. 



Chehalis River Basin Fisheries 



Fisheries have tended toward multiple gear types and expansion of fishing 

 grounds. Before European contact, various Indian tribes or bands fished Grays 

 Harbor for salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and sturgeon with weirs and 

 other terminal gear (GHRPC 1992). Settlers began arriving in the 1850s and, 



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