We're not trying to eliminate northern pikeminnow. What we're trying to do is reduce the average size. Smaller fish eat less smolts. Evaluation of the reward fishery is an important component of the overall program. It will tell us how effective we are and where we need to make improvements.
Results indicate that the program is successful.
Since 1990 over 1.5 million northern pikeminnow have been removed from the Snake and Columbia rivers as a result of the sport reward program. Millions of young salmon survived that would have otherwise been eaten. We estimate that predation on juvenile salmonids has been cut by 25 percent. In 2000, more than 190,000 northern pikeminnow were caught. The northern pikeminnow caught are not going to waste.