10/22/09

BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ Fisheries and power officials in the
Northwest say they think a program aimed at reducing a rapacious
predator of young salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers is
working, based on the latest tally from the 2009 pikeminnow season.

Anglers caught only about 141,000 of the salmon hunters through
Oct. 11, down from annual pikeminnow catches that have ranged as
high as 200,000.

Russell Porter, with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission in Portland, Ore., says, ``We believe it's due to the
program doing what it was designed to do: reduce the number of
pikeminnow.''

Anglers who catch the fish earn bounties ranging from $4 to $8
per pikeminnow. In addition, some caught 180 specially tagged fish,
each worth $500.

And from August on, anglers were also eligible for weekly
drawings of $1,000, for a total of $60,000 paid out.

Since 1991, more than 3.3 million northern pikeminnow have been
removed from the Snake and Columbia rivers through this program.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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