Oregon Public Broadcasting

The fish and wildlife departments of Oregon and Washington are teaming up to study new fish nets on the lower Columbia River. They think better-designed nets could catch more hatchery fish and let more wild fish go.

This week Oregon and Washington will be testing five different types of netting systems on the Columbia River. They're trying to find nets that will be less harmful to wild fish.

That sounds good, but Stuart Ellis says he has concerns.

Ellis works as a fish biologist for Columbia River tribes. He says even better-designed nets end up catching both wild and hatchery fish. But wildlife officials aren’t really sure how many wild fish die from stress after they are released back into the river. 

Ellis says culturally Native Americans take issue with selective fishing.

Stuart Ellis: "The tribes feel that it basically comes down to playing with your food. They feel it's better to go fishing and then be done."

Washington Fish and Wildlife officials say their tests last year were promising. With nearly 900 fish caught, only one died during handling.