[6] Feds Will Look At West Coast Smelt Populations
NOAA Fisheries announced Mar. 12 it has accepted a petition from the Cowlitz Tribe to examine smelt populations for possible listing for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Smelt, also known as candlefish or eulachon, have long been prized by tribal cultures for their oil. Many Northwest tribes still use "ooligan" oil as part of their native cuisine, especially in BC and Alaska. Lewis and Clark ate plenty of them during the winter of 1805 when they were hunkered down at Astoria. In fact, the word "Oregon" may actually be a variant of the Cree Indian pronunciation of the word "ooligan," and the source for the modern word "eulachon," according to the petition.
In recent years, harvestable levels of eulachon in Columbia River tributaries have declined significantly. "Because the prospect of eulachon becoming extinct is wholly unacceptable to us, we are asking the Secretary of Commerce to list eulachon as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA," said the tribe's petition.
The petition seeks designation of smelt populations in United States rivers south of the Canadian border as a "distinct population segment," even though there seems to be little genetic difference between US runs and those in BC. However, a regulatory finding that allows the DPS would mean the agency will consider US stocks a sub-group of the entire species as a candidate for listing under the ESA.
The feds said they will assemble a team of experts "to examine in detail the health of smelt populations along the coast and the causes for the apparent declines." By fall, they said the agency could propose ESA protection for some or all of these smelt populations. "A formal proposal would be followed by a year-long period of peer review, public comment and public hearings before any final decision about official ESA listing is made."
Eulachon harvests bounced back in 2001 and were relatively high through 2004, but have dropped significantly since then. Warm ocean conditions may have played a big role in the decline, said the petition, but it also noted that "variability and/or trends in ocean conditions are for the most part unpredictable and are not able to be manipulated by humans. This leads to confusion about the primary causes and consequences of population declines and what we can do (or cease doing) to restore them."
NMFS turned down a 1999 petition for a formal review of the smelt populations filed by retired WDFW biologist Sam Wright. They said not enough information was available to determine if the Columbia River population was a DPS. They also said harvest data didn't provide a reliable measure of abundance, but the stock had shown an ability to rebound, and ocean conditions probably played the most important role in controlling abundance. -B. R.
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