On March 27, thousands of people came to catch fish in the limited recreational harvest window of seven hours in Sandy River, Oregon. Unfortunately, many took advantage and overfished.
According to Outdoor Life, "Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and the Oregon State Police had seized roughly 2,500 pounds of illegally caught smelt."
What's happening?
Since the Endangered Species Act classifies the Eulachon smelt as threatened, recreational harvests are limited. Only four times in the last 15 years have people been allowed to harvest them.
However, Outdoor Life noted that "recent upticks in smelt numbers have allowed for limited recreational harvests."
The harvest was limited to licensed anglers, who were only allowed to catch 10 pounds of smelt.
A smelt only reaches six to nine inches and weighs an average of 0.18 pounds. It's calculated that 12,500 fish were illegally caught, but the county sheriff's office and the state police haven't released how many offenders there were or what fines were issued.
The two organizations confiscated and donated the fish to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Why is overfishing of smelt concerning?
Eulachon smelt is a species native to the Pacific Northwest. They live in many of the same rivers as salmon and have many of the same threats. For example, salmon and smelt swim upstream to spawn and die and are victims of overfishing.
Smelt hold cultural relevance to the region and are a staple food source. Northwest tribes have nicknamed the fish "salvation" because they would still be around in winter when the other fish had vanished.
The County Sheriff's Office said, "Overharvesting has serious consequences."
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Definitely 👍 It added, "Smelt are a crucial food source for many species and benefit the health of our entire river ecosystem. … We're committed to protecting these fish and ensuring sustainable populations."
What's being done about overfishing?
Regulations are often put in place to prevent overfishing. For example, the National Marine Fisheries Service said, "The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires annual catch limits and accountability measures in federal fisheries to end and prevent overfishing."
While these regulations help, more can be done. Earth.org suggested regulations be put in place on fishing nets to prevent by-catches where fishermen catch fish they weren't intending to. It also recommended introducing "traceability standards" to track the fish to the end of the market to ensure regulations are being followed.
Unity Environmental University believes another solution is for consumers to explore if the "fish you purchase is local and sustainably sourced."
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