Wednesday December 21, 2022
Big Country News —
In 2022, anglers caught and removed more than 140,000 northern pikeminnow from the Columbia and Snake rivers, protecting hundreds of thousands of young salmon and steelhead from predation.
Nearly 1,200 people registered to be part of the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program, which is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. The program ran from May 1 through September 30, 2022, with anglers removing a total of 140,121 northern pikeminnow from the two rivers, earning $1,367,398 for their efforts.
Bonneville Power Administration pays registered anglers $6 to $10 per fish, nine inches or longer. The more fish an angler catches, the more each pikeminnow they reel-in is worth.
Each year, state fish and wildlife biologists also release hundreds of specially tagged northern pikeminnow each worth $200 – $500. This year, the top angler registered with the Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Program earned $69,230, catching almost 7,000 fish in just five months.