The Northern Pikeminnow Ransom

I'd like to say a few words about the Northern Pikeminnow ransom. At this point, nearly anyone who fishes or has fished with me will let out a groan due to my incessant and continuous ranting concerning the topic. However, I do not care, as we environmentalists and anglers need to rally together in order to save the Pikeminnow from the misguided clutches of the ODFW. 

Everyone take a good long look at this majestic species.

To give a little background, Northern Pikeminnow are a species of predatory cyprinid native to the Columbia River Basin area. They have been swimming in these waters since before any fisherman. Being predatory fish, it is natural that they consumed on a wide variety of small baitfish, including salmon and steelhead smolts. Although not prized as sportfish, they tug fairly hard when hooked and often are cooperative in the absence of other species. Despite this, most are disdained by anglers seeking more valuable species such as bass or steelhead. I've caught quite a few of these slim fish, particularly when I was younger and an unskilled bass fisherman. The point is, these fish have been an important part of our river ecosystems for thousands of years.

Look at how adorable I was before I became the snide fishing blogger I am today. Also look at the Pikeminnow.

Fast forward to today. Facing poor salmon stocks and needing a scapegoat to relieve themselves from responsibility, the ODFW decided to blame an underappreciated trash species for the long string of environmental disasters and man made stressors that had been accumulating over the course of the last several decades. They proposed to allow the slaughter of a native fish species who prey on salmon and steelhead smolts. Pikeminnows are not the only fish that eat smolts in the Columbia River basin. Bass, walleye, and an assortment of other predatory species also regularly consume young salmon and steelhead. Of course, bass and walleye are prized gamefish, so of course they must be spared despite being nonnative and more inherently detrimental to the environment. 

The ODFW has long defended their practice of slaughtering the noble Pikeminnow. For instance, they claim that the warmer water brought on by the Bonneville Dam has caused Pikeminnow populations to multiply rapidly and consume larger numbers of salmon and steelhead fry than ever before. In addition, their "sport reward" program claims to be aimed at reducing the Pikeminnow population rather than eliminating it. While I applaud the intentions behind reducing populations of fish that prey on salmon and steelhead, an objective as open-ended as "reducing" populations without any detectable end goal seems like something that will end badly for the Pikeminnows and the native ecosystem as well. In addition, encouraging anglers to mass-slaughter these fish to be ground into fertilizer or disposed of reinforces the notion that these are trash fish not worthy of respect or environmental protection. The only thing that can truly save an endangered or threatened native species (which the Pikeminnow may become one day with the sustained fishing pressure) is the cooperation of the local community and those that reside within it. A generation of anglers accustomed to the Northern Pikeminnow as a nuisance and a menace will be unlikely to attempt to save the species and its habitat if need be. Keep in mind, these are people who will shoot sea lions to protect their salmon, so an ugly, slimy minnow isn't going to stop them.

Here's another picture of me from when I was really little with a fish that must've escaped all those vicious Pikeminnows.

Also, there's little evidence to actually prove that the Pikeminnow significantly affects salmon populations. Hundreds of fish, bird, and mammal species all feed on the salmon, and pinpointing the lackluster success rates of salmon fisheries to a single species of fish seems extremely questionable. I read a study that first piqued my interest when it claimed that the Pikeminnow ransom led to a 40% decrease in salmon mortality. However, upon closer inspection it was revealed that it led to a 40% drop in salmon mortality at the hands of the Pikeminnow. Considering the negligible effect Pikeminnows have on salmon populations when compared to other environmental stressors, a 40% decrease from that is absolutely nothing. In other words, the Northern Pikeminnow ransom achieves nothing towards legitimate conservation. The taxpayer money that goes to hundreds of fishermen who turn in dead Pikeminnows should instead be used for dam removal or stream renovation, or other methods of salmon protection that don't involve unbalancing the delicate ecosystem. I would like to reiterate that this is an expression of my personal, largely uneducated opinion, but I feel it is necessary to remind the ODFW of their role as environmental stewards to the state.


If those fish in the picture were all salmon, steelhead, or sturgeon, the person responsible would be considered a monster                                                                                      and would likely be put in jail.

I can hardly say that this has been a subjective account of the Northern Pikeminnow reward program. However, I feel it is important to educate others about the preservation of all native species, not just those that anglers like to fish for. I'm a sportsman who primarily fishes for those "glamor" fish, but I also believe that I have a pretty fair understanding of the importance of a balanced ecosystem. Sure, Pikeminnows may be a nuisance to baby salmon and anglers seeking more desirable species, but they represent one of the area's most important native predators and should be seen with admiration rather than contempt and derision. Maybe if our fisheries biologists look past the quick-fix "solution" of killing Pikeminnows and focus on the greater picture, our fisheries and communities will be bettered as a result. Until then, I'll be rallying to save the Pikeminnow.