Long Range Plan For The Klamath River Basin ... - KrisWeb

Tribal FisheriesYurok. Yurok tribal members conduct both subsistence and commercial gill netfisheries in the Klamath River between the Trinity River and the Klamath's mouth atRequa. Most of the Yurok fishing effort occurs in the estuary near Highway 101. Theselower Klamath net harvests have ranged from 13,000 salmon in 1985 to 52,000 and46,000 in 1988 and 1989. The Yuroks began a second, earlier commercial gill net fisheryfor spring run chinook salmon in 1989 and will pursue this fishery again in 1990.In 1987, 1988, and 1989 the Yurok commercial fishery harvested an average of26,000 fall run chinook salmon. These fish represent a direct value to the tribe of $3million. The total personal income generated by support businesses of the fishery inHumboldt and Del Note counties has not been quantified.Hoopa Valley. Since passage of the 1988 Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, HoopaValley Tribal members fish exclusively on the Trinity River which flows through theirReservation. The Hoopas' harvest of fall run chinook salmon has ranged from 2,000 to5,000 since 1985; their take of spring chinook salmon has ranged from 1,000 in 1985 to4,200 in 1987. Like the Yuroks, the Hoopas take coho salmon, steelhead, and greensturgeon incidentally during their spring and fall chinook salmon gill netting.Karuk. Members of the Karuk Tribe have fishing privileges in the half-mile ofKlamath River below Ishi Pishi Falls (just above the mouth of the Salmon River, near theHumboldt-Siskiyou county line). Traditional Karuk fishers use hand-held dip nets tosnatch salmon from the turbulent water below the falls (Figure 1-1). Although Karukstake far fewer salmon than the downstream Indian fishers, their relationship with the riverand its fish life is every bit as strong as that of the other two tribes.Ocean Commercial FisherySalmon from the Klamath River Basin are taken by commercial trollers (hookand-linefishermen) in the ocean mainly between Fort Bragg, California and Coos Bay,Oregon. Of the more than 600,000 chinook salmon taken in these waters annually since1986, more than a third were of Klamath River origin. While these fish represent a directvalue to the fishermen of nearly $6 million, their value to the supporting businesses ofthe fishing ports and to their employees is several times that amount.Recreational FisheryRecreational fishing occurs in the ocean off the Klamath River and within theKlamath River Basin. The ocean sport fishery catches Klamath River chinook and cohosalmon in the same general Fort Bragg to Coos Bay area, as does the commercial trollfishery. Access is mainly by charter or party boats and skiffs.River anglers pursue steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, shad, and sturgeon in additionto chinook and coho salmon. Anglers harvest the fall chinook mainly along the YurokReservation in the lower Klamath where the fish's eating quality is still good and where