Earlier this year, Wild Fish Conservancy proudly announced the implementation of Washington’s State’s second commercial fish trap since 1934. The new trap located near Hunting Islands is part of the state’s historic Emerging Commercial Fishery—the first of its kind in nearly a century.
History continues to be made on the lower Columbia River this month with the first commercial fish traps since 1934 now operating at three sites in Washington and Oregon.
Nearly a century ago, fish traps were banned in Washington State due to poor management that led to overharvest and the decline of wild salmon populations. Now, in a historic moment, fish traps will return to the Columbia River for the first time since 1934—this time as a tool to advance the protection and recovery of the basin’s threatened wild salmon and steelhead.
Making history this summer season, local fishers will operate fish traps (otherwise known as pound nets) on both shores of the lower Columbia River in
New research was published in the journal of Communications Earth & Environment sounds a grave warning for endangered Southern Resident killer whales and highlights the urgent conservation measures necessary to stem their pending extinction. While projecting rapid population collapse in roughly 40 years’ time from maintenance of the status-quo, the authors also shine light on the hopeful path forward to recovery.
It is with great sadness that we must share the news about our dear friend and colleague Mary Valentine who passed away tragically last week.
WFC published a third peer-reviewed paper in the international Journal of Fisheries Research confirming 100% survival for salmon release from passively operated fish traps.
A new bycatch survival study of passively operated fish traps was recently completed for spring-run and summer-run Chinook Salmon in the Columbia River. The results
A groundbreaking new published paper by Wild Fish Conservancy demonstrated survival of salmon and steelhead released from an experimental fish trap on the Columbia River was far higher than rates for any previously tested commercial fishing gears on the Columbia River.
