ABSTRACT
Any discussion of sustainable fisheries for Pacific salmon should consider the experience gained from more than a century of management and thousands of years of Native American subsistence fishing. Efforts to manage salmon fisheries sustainably can profit from an examination of the causes for declining salmon populations. This chapter traces the history of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch in the Siuslaw River, Oregon from before Euro-American contact to the present. Siuslaw River coho have declined to a fraction of previous levels. A complex of factors is responsible, but watershed modification resulting in loss of spawning and rearing habitat and overharvest are the primary reasons. The basin likely has a lowered carrying capacity for coho salmon. Reduced spawner escapements have also contributed to the declines.
Attempts to sustain coho production in the Siuslaw River have been ongoing since shortly after Euro-American settlement began more than a century ago. Managers have tried hatcheries, restrictions on commercial and recreational harvest, and habitat improvement strategies. Where managers once sought maximum yields, current restoration efforts reflect the need to stabilize coho populations at sustainable levels. Salmon populations depend on numerous interrelated factors, including human harvest and land use. If a sustainable fishery is one in which future generations can also participate, then ongoing habitat protection and restoration efforts offer hope for a brighter future.
