Qualifications:

The ISRP recommends that the proponents describe their responses to the ISRP's comments and suggestions below in their upcoming annual report covering FY 2019 accomplishments.

1.      A detailed description of the creel survey methodology and/or an appropriate publicly available reference that provides details of the survey methodology.

2.      Creel survey data for 2017 and 2018 integrated with prior data.

3.      A description of how creel survey data are shared with co-managers so that timely management responses can be made if needed. The ISRP presumes that creel survey data are shared in-season with co-managers.

4.      A description of the project's adaptive management process; i.e., how the proponents review and possibly alter their existing survey methods and other protocols.

Comment:

This project provides creel survey data in mainstem Tribal fisheries that are expanded by the Yakama Nation fisheries biologists and shared with co-managers. The project fulfills U.S. v. Oregon monitoring requirements, but little information was provided in the proposal and survey reports about the survey design, standard procedures, dates, survey effort or extent of survey coverage.

More timely reporting of creel survey data is needed.

1. Objectives, Significance to Regional Programs, and Technical Background

The objectives of this catch monitoring project are to increase monitoring of Zone 6 tribal fisheries and tribal fisheries immediately below Bonneville Dam (all gear types and uses) and to recover PIT tags in captured salmon. Harvest data are used to expand and estimate total catch by tribal fisheries, which is needed for fisheries management and to ensure harvests are within the limits of the U.S. v. Oregon Management Agreement. Sufficient information is provided in the brief proposal and report regarding the significance and background of this basic fisheries monitoring effort.

2. Results and Adaptive Management

Project reports summarize expanded tribal harvests by species in relation to counts at Bonneville Dam and PIT tag recoveries for each species of salmon and steelhead. The most recent report describes harvests for 2016. No information was reported for 2017 and 2018 fisheries, but these data were presented in the PowerPoint presentation. Creel data are shared with the U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee, and creel data are expanded to total catch by species. The potential role of PIT tag recoveries was considered in discussions of adaptive management. However, to date PIT tags are primarily collected and shared with agencies that released the tags rather than using them for harvest management. In its next annual report, the proponents should describe their adaptive management process; i.e., how they review and possibly alter their existing survey methods and other protocols.

3. Methods: Project Relationships, Work Types, and Deliverables

The Yakama Nation Fisheries Department runs the creel monitoring program for all four tribes. CRITFC assists in coordinating tribal fisheries and reporting catches to co-managers. The approach is briefly described, including creel (interview) surveys to estimate CPUE and weekly aerial surveys to estimate overall effort. The proposal indicates that the effort has successfully achieved its goal of surveying 20% of the fishers. This effort does not involve stock-specific estimates, which are covered by other projects, but it does document marked and unmarked harvests. The effort is integrated with state fisheries management. The proposal and recent reports do not provide details about the survey design, standard procedures, dates, survey effort or extent of survey coverage. Presumably this effort receives sufficient technical oversight from the U.S. vs Oregon Technical Advisory Committee, but there was no reference to the creel survey methodology. The proponents assume that the creel data can be expanded to obtain accurate counts of total numbers of fish harvested in Tribal fisheries.