"Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife says the 2022 smelt run is expected to be larger than the year before. Dipnetters caught about 90,750 pounds in the five-hour fishery window in 2021, the state reports.
Columbia River smelt are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to declines in run size in the last decade, which is why recreational fishing is limited to years in which the run size is exceptionally large. Smelt have a range from Long Beach, California, to Chignik Lagoon, Alaska, but the Columbia River has a specific kind of smelt, also called hooligan or eulachon."
- Vancouver Columbia Newspaper, 4/8/2022
Eulachon smelt runs in the late winter were very important to the many Native Americans living along the lower Columbia River for over 2,000 years until 1800. These small fish were prized for their high oily fat content and ease of catching. Sadly, after 1800, nearly 90% of the Native Americans along the lower Columbia River (e.g. Chinook, Clapsop, Cowlitz) died of newly introduced communicable diseases.
Today, I plan to do some sightseeing along the Cowlitz River from Longview to Castle Rock.
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