Fish & Game mulls kokanee harvest increase

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Department of Fish & Game is trawling for public comment on a proposal to increase the harvest limit for Lake Pend Oreille kokanee.

Anglers can comment until May 10 on the proposal to raise the limit from six kokanee to 15. If the increase is supported by anglers, the department will present the proposal to the Idaho Fish & Game Commission when it meets on May 15-16.

Continued improvement of kokanee population is prompting the proposed harvest limit amendment, according to Fish & Game. The population of landlocked sockeye salmon is rebounding thanks to vigorous predator-control efforts on the lake, officials said.

Lake trout have been dramatically reduced through harvest incentives and netting efforts, which have increased the survival of juvenile kokanee.

“When we opened the kokanee fishery in 2013, we took a very cautions approach with a six-fish limit, anticipating if the population continued to grow we could consider changing the rules mid-cycle,” said Jim Fredericks, Fish and Game’s Panhandle fisheries manager.

Last fall, an estimated 1.2 million mature kokanee survived to spawn, making it one of the highest spawner returns in the past 40 year and a four-fold increase from 2012.

“We wouldn’t propose an increase if we weren’t entirely certain the population could withstand the additional harvest, said Fredericks.

“The kokanee population is back to being at or above the level it was in the 1980s and ’90s, when the kokanee limit was 25 per day, so we’re very comfortable with an increase to 15.”

• Those with questions or remarks about the proposal can reach Fredericks at (208) 769-1414 or jim.fredericks@idfg.idaho.gov.