Top anglers in the 2023 Northern Pikeminnow Sport Rewards Program caught 10,755 fish and collected $107,800 during a five-month open season on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest.
They became the third person to break the $100,000 mark and earned the second-highest total in program history, but fell short of the record of $119,341 set in 2016. In 2023, a total of 11,954 participants caught 156,505 pikeminnows. The top 20 anglers caught an average of 4,005 fish and paid $40,135.
“Yields were very close to the 32-year average of 160,000, and labor increased by more than 10%.” [from 2022]'' Eric Windsor, project leader for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Northwest Sportsman. “Overall, it was a very solid year with several opportunities in multiple areas and some very good fishing.”
Overfishing can destroy ecosystems and push species to the brink of extinction, but in states such as Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, the practice is welcomed to restore balance to other fish populations. ing.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the northern pikeminnow, which is native to this area, can feed on millions of young salmon and steelhead. The bounty, administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, helps reduce the average size of predators and limit the number of larger mature fish, allowing more young salmon and steelhead to move into the ocean. It will be.
ODFW also notes that the Bonneville Power Administration is funding the project to “partially mitigate impacts on salmon from the federal Columbia River Hydroelectric System.”
Last year, the program ran from early May until the end of September and allowed anglers to catch pikeminnows at least 9 inches long. Organizers offered $6 each for the first 25 pike minnows caught, $8 each for the next 175, and $10 each after the first 200.
In addition, participants were rewarded between $200 and $500 for fish that swallowed passively integrated transponder tags that researchers implanted in young salmon.
The incentive has been a success for ODFW officials and the salmon population, as Sport Rewards Fisheries has removed 5.3 million northern pike minnows since the program began in 1990. As a result, predation on juvenile salmonids decreased by 40%.
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