Fish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?
A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon to help save salmon. The reintroduction of fish traps has reignited their controversial history in the region, with some conservationists embracing the technique as a potential conservation tool.
Fish traps were used by Native Americans to catch salmon on the Columbia River for centuries. They were later adopted by settlers, but ultimately banned in Washington and Oregon. A new pilot program is assessing their economic potential. The traps corral fish into a fenced-off area of the river, where they can be harvested or released safely. Seventeen salmon populations are listed as threatened or endangered on the West Coast. The experiment aims to test whether the traps could be an economically viable alternative to gillnets.
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