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Fisheries Management Overview

CRITFC provides its four member tribes with technical assistance on harvest, hatchery, water management, and fish passage issues. This work includes tracking the catch of Columbia River salmon from southeast Alaska all the way to the Columbia River tributaries. The Fisheries Management team helps the tribes coordinate with state and federal agencies to ensure that the tribes receive an equitable share(1/2 of the harvest) of Columbia River salmon.

The fish management team also reviews hatchery management plans with an eye toward compatibility with the naturally spawning population and devises plans that aim to increase the survival of juvenile and adult salmon as they migrate through the hydropower system. Tribal policy makers use CRITFC’s technical information and expertise to formulate management positions that reflect the tribal goal of returning naturally spawning fish to all their usual and accustomed fishing places. The Fisheries Management team assists the CRITFC commissioners in their participation on the Pacific Salmon Commission and other intergovernmental bodies overseeing salmon fisheries in the Columbia River Basin.

For additional information, contact Mike Matylewich at matm@critfc.org.

A History of Management

For generations, traditional fishing councils governed tribal communities on the Columbia River. One such authority was the “Celilo Fish Committee.” The authority exercised by the Celilo Fish Committee was derived from the sovereign powers of the people living and fishing in nearby tribal territories. The committee ordained fishing practices that were disciplined and designed to serve a high purpose: to ensure that the salmon resource was served first—even worshipped—so that it would flourish and always exist. Photo: Matheny Collection