Native American tribes in western Washington state have changed their fishing practices to help summer chum salmon populations recover.

The Quilcene coho fishery, one of the most popular fisheries in sport and commercial circles, is of special concern to the tribes. Because the run timing of Quilcene River hatchery coho is earlier than other Hood Canal coho runs, they overlap with the wild summer chum that are also entering the river.

Hood Canal summer chum were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1999.

"It is recognized that by fishing for coho that there could be impacts on weak summer chum stocks," said Randy Harder, executive director of the Point No Point Treaty Council. "However, the goal of the tribes is to not only maximize treaty harvest opportunities, but is also to sustain salmon runs forever. The tribes have changed the way they fish so summer chum have a better chance at recovering."

The Treaty Council is a natural resource management organization formed in 1974 by the Skokomish, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Jamestown S'Klallam and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribes.

To lessen impacts on summer chum, in 1992 the tribes restricted the decades long practice of setting gill nets on the western shore of Quilcene Bay. Instead, they pull beach seines, which although more labor intensive, allow tribal harvesters to release summer chum.

"Its very important to the tribes for Hood Canal summer chum to recover," said Harder. "The tribes have and will continue to do their part. But, harvest is only a small piece of the puzzle compared to what we've seen in terms of habitat damage."

Almost every year after they changed their harvest practices, the tribes saw incidental summer chum catches drop.

"Since 1995 we have been exceeding escapement goals," said Harder. Escapement refers to the number of fish allowed to spawn in order to sustain a run at a desired level.

Outside of Quilcene Bay, where there is less of an overlap between the coho and summer chum runs, the tribes have taken steps to time their fisheries to avoid catching summer chum.

"Over the past ten years, these measures have been successful in avoiding unnecessary summer chum mortalities," said Harder. "The tribes, the original salmon managers, are dedicated to having healthy salmon runs."

The tribes of the Point No Point Treaty council have been leading the summer chum recovery effort for more than a decade. One member tribe, the Skokomish, has finished a restoration project in the Big Quilcene River, which will provide additional summer chum spawning and rearing habitat. The tribes and the State of Washington also have in place a summer chum recovery plan, which in addition to a harvest component, also addresses hatchery and habitat protection and restoration measures.

"Stricter harvest and hatchery management measures won't recover summer chum totally without real work being done on salmon habitat," said Harder. "Habitat protection and restoration is key."