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Record salmon escapement in 2001 a result of sound co-management

SNOHOMISH COUNTY - In what tribal and state management experts say is an important step forward in salmon recovery, record numbers of chinook, pink, and coho salmon returned to their spawning grounds in 2001 in the Snohomish basin.

For chinook salmon in the Snohomish system, including the Snohomish, Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers, the co-managers were able to achieve the highest escapement since at least 1965. Pink and coho salmon escapements were also at record levels in the Snohomish, with pink totals reaching almost four times the previous high. "Escapement" is the number of fish allowed to spawn in order to sustain a run at a desired level.

Snohomish chinook escapement for 2001 was estimated to be 8,146 spawning fish. The average number through the 1960s and 1970s was approximately 5,000 fish per year. Between 1980 and 1998 this number was not reached even once. Since then, the escapement has exceeded 6,000 in 1998, 2000, and 2001. The recent upturn indicates that conservative harvest management plans are allowing large numbers of chinook to spawn to propagate the species.

"This shows that we're doing all we can from the harvest management side. Through great sacrifices by fishing communities, the tribal and state co-managers are allowing most of the returning salmon to reach their spawning grounds," said Terry Williams, Commissioner of Fisheries and Natural Resources with the Tulalip Tribes. "Now we are challenging the habitat to produce fish from these spawning salmon - and challenging ourselves to keep crucially important habitat restoration and protection efforts coming."

Though the increasing escapements are positive news, they should not be taken as an indication that salmon recovery has been achieved. The strong 2001 returns are a result of many factors, including favorable ocean conditions, an absence of significant river flooding, and continuing extreme restrictions on both tribal and non-tribal fishing. "In the future when these stocks are recovered", Williams said, "we will expect to see spawning numbers this large, or larger, even during times when survival conditions are not as good." If habitat recovery efforts do not increase, said Williams, the 2001 runs will be just a small blip on a larger radar screen of diminishing salmon populations.

Neither do this year's numbers indicate a long-term trend. Environmental factors, such as marine and river conditions, fluctuate from year to year. Fish returning to spawn in 2001 faced neither an El Niño phenomenon in the ocean nor significant drought or flooding in the river. Managers expect fluctuations in abundance to continue, but they hope to see an upward overall trend.

"This doesn't mean we've done all we can do or that the problem is solved. Healthy salmon runs require quality habitat, and we're far from where we need to be on that front," said Kit Rawson, biologist with the Tulalip Tribes. "We need to be sure all the factors limiting production are addressed so that abundance can continue to increase. Fishing restrictions by themselves will not bring this about. Improved habitat is a prerequisite for salmon recovery."

Beginning several years ago, the state and tribal co-managers reduced the allowable catch of chinook salmon below the levels that would normally be permitted. "The allowable harvest levels were deliberately set low enough that the runs would grow quickly under favorable survival conditions," Rawson said. "Chinook management is now designed to facilitate recovery and not to harvest as many fish as possible. The Snohomish spawning escapement numbers seen in 2001 demonstrate that this plan is working as expected."

"We're still very short of our long-term goal of wild salmon recovery," said Williams, "but this shows that changes in harvest management can produce results when other conditions are right. Now it's time for habitat preservation and restoration actions to complement our harvest management efforts. If we work together, salmon recovery can happen."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Terry Williams, Tulalip Tribes, (360) 651-4480; Kit Rawson, Tulalip Tribes, (360) 651-4478; Jeff Shaw, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, (360) 424-8226, (360) 481-3541 cellular.

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