It wasn’t all that long ago that the Columbia River would be filled with smelt during migration season. There were enough of these tiny fish to support a vibrant commercial fishing industry. Millions of pounds were harvested every year.
Then sometime in the 1990s, things started to go very badly for the Pacific Smelt.
On Tuesday, NOAA Fisheries announced it will list the fish as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The Pacific Smelt, or eulachon, spends most of its life in the ocean. But they return to freshwater rivers in the winter and early spring to spawn. The annual migration was once quite a spectacle. Streams and rivers could be so thick with smelt you could just dip a net in the water and pull them out.
They also played an important role in the culture of Northwest tribes. Their high fat content made them an important food source during the lean winter months. In fact, it was the Cowlitz Tribe that petitioned NOAA to put the fish on the Endangered Species List.
The fish covered by the announcement range from Northern California to the Canadian border. The biggest threat to the smelt’s long term survival is climate change, which has reduced the availability of the fish’s prey and caused changes in the timing and volume of Northwest river flows in the spring.
Other threats include shrimp harvesting. The two species share some common areas in the Pacific Ocean and smelt can get caught up in shrimp nets. During migration, predation by sea lions, birds and other fish have become a serious problem.
One of the best known fishing spots for smelt is along the Cowlitz River in Washington. The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says it supports NOAA’s decision and will work with the agency and tribes to help the fish recover.
According to a February 12th story in the Longview Daily News, commercial smelt fishermen netted about 3,000 pounds of fish this year. But few of the fish have been seen since late January.
Thanks NOAA. This little fish is the best tasting. I have fond memories of eating them as a little girl. I hope they make a come back.