Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission 6730 Martin Way E., Olympia, Washington 98516-5540 Phone (360) 438-1180 www.nwife-org FAX # 753-8659 March 20, 2009 ‘The Honorable Norman D. U.S. House of Representatives 2467 Raybum HOB Independence Ave & S. Capitol St, SW Washington, DC 20510 ae Dear CondibeSian Dicks: ‘We want to thank you for the opportunity to discuss with you salmon recovery and mark-selective fishing issues. We are not opposed to mark-selective fishing as we stated at our meeting on March 7 and at WDFW’s initial stakeholders meeting earlier this month. We are supportive of these fisheries and the development of this management tool. Mark-selective fisheries, like all other fisheries, must however contribute to achieving stock recovery objectives and appropriate effort must be taken to monitor their impacts on unmarked/natural populations. Our support for this ‘management tool is evident by the fact that over half of the Puget Sound recreational fisheries are now mark-selective, by agreement of the co-managers. ‘The Puget Sound tribes are committed to wild stock recovery and the comprehensive management of our fishery resources. The many cases and sub-proceedings comprising U.S. v. Washington speak to this fact. We took the lead in developing the recovery plans for each of the watersheds within Puget Sound, plans that have been approved by NOAA under the Endangered Species Act. ‘There should be no question as to the tribes’ commitment to salmon recovery and the conservation principles that serve as the foundation to this effort. No one in this region has done more to protect and recover our depleted wild salmon populations. If we are to recover Puget Sound Chinook - an Endangered Species Act listed species - we must successfully achieve the stock/watershed objectives identified for harvest, hatcheries, and habitat For harvest, this means constraining fishing related mortalities to sustainable levels for each natural management unit within Puget Sound. This can only be achieved if we can accurately account for all sources of fishery related mortality. This includes not only landed catch, but also indirect mortality such as release mortality for fish that are caught and released. The annual expansion of mark-selective fisheries for Chinook within Puget Sound has and will continue to increase the percentage of the total mortality that is caused by release mortality or in other words, non-landed catch. In 2008, Stillaguamish natural Chinook was the stock of concen around which we shaped all fisheries. Release mortality associated with mark-selective fisheries ‘was estimated to be about 40% of the total U.S. impacts allowed for this stock. As a larger percentage of the total allowable exploitation rates become allocated to this type of fishingMarch 20 et fo Congressman Dicks ~ page? approach there is a need for accurate estimates of their impacts if we are to stay within our targeted impact limits. The very nature of these fisheries requires that a comprehensive and science-based sampling program be implemented. Simply sampling catch at the dock and tabulating catch record cards at the end of the season will not indicate how many wild Chinook died as a result of being caught and released in mark-selective fisheries, While this standard sampling approach works for non-selective fisheries, mark-selective fisheries require the implementation of a sampling program that also gathers information on total encounters, size composition (legal/sublegal), and mark rate. This provides information on the total number of unmarked (wild) fish that were released from which estimates of release mortality can be generated. ‘The Puget Sound Tribes have requested that adequate monitoring, sampling and enforcement programs occur with mark-selective fisheries so that the necessary catch information can be obtained. Each program has been tailored to the characteristics of the fishery and area. The tribes are sensitive to cost considerations and flexibility does exist to further adjust the programs if alternative approaches ean consistently provide the necessary information. This year, tribal staff suggested to WDFW a modification to their basic survey design that would allow for a reduetion in sampling effort and cost, while still allowing the accuracy of the estimates to be maintained. Effective fishery management requires monitoring, sampling and enforcement. This is a basic requirement of both the State of Washington and the Tribes under U.S. v. Washington. The capability to provide post season reports on fishing activities and impacts also is an obligation under the Endangered Species Act and the U.S./Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty. More importantly, itis a necessity for salmon recovery. We must be able to control our collective fishery related mortalities to levels that are sustainable and that will not impede the recovery of the stocks of concer. Since the listing of Puget Sound Chinook in 1999, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Puget Sound Tribes have focused on reaching accommodation of each others” fishery needs and not a strict 50/50 allocation of impacts. This decision reflects the recognition that this is the best way to ensure stability for our fishers and fishery dependent communities. Each year, for the past 25 years, we have gone through the North of Falcon process to develop a suite of fisheries that reaches 8 fair sharing of the burden of conservation and distribution of available impacts. The tribes remain committed to this objective and process. Itis the tribal perspective that mark-selective fisheries are a viable management tool. This type of fishing strategy has been and can continue to be part of the suite of fisheries that make up the annual fishery management regime. As with all other salmon fisheries, mark-selective fisheries must contribute to achieving stock recovery objectives, and be sampled for their impacts on both marked and unmarked salmon stocks.March 20 letter to Congressman Dicks - page 3 I trust this letter clarifies the Tribes” views on these issues. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Sincerely, ce: All Tribes NWIEC Commissioners Phil Anderson, WDFW Governor Gregoire WFWC.