Smelt run in Columbia, Cowlitz not expected to be large in 2017

State biologists are forecasting a modest smelt run to the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers in 2017, possibly the smallest in the past five years.

Brad James of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said the outlook is for smelt runs similar to 2011 and 2012, when about 3.2 to 3.3 million pounds came back.

By comparison, the estimate of smelt returns were 9.6 million pounds in 2013, 16.6 million pounds in 2014, 11.4 million pounds in 2015 and 5.1 million pounds in 2016.

It takes about 11 smelt to total a pound.

Ocean conditions were favorable for marine survival during 2012 and 2013, but have deteriorated the past three years.

In 2010, smelt were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Despite the listing, Washington and Oregon ask the federal government to allow very minimal sport and commercial harvests to help in monitoring the population.

In 2016, the commercials got eight fishing periods in the lower Columbia spread over four weeks. They landed 4,820 pounds.

Sport dippers got a single day in the lower Cowlitz River, harvesting 141,050 pounds. Tribal dipping in the Cowlitz netted 8,330 pounds.

If fishing is allowed in 2017, the season likely will be similar to last year.