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line-height:19px; margin:0 0 4px 0;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;word-break:break-word;">Hoopa Valley Tribe warns of lawsuit over salmon fishing rules</h2> <div class="card-description" style="font-size:11px;line-height:15px;color:#999;word-break:break-word;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275126">The Hoopa Valley Tribe notified federal agencies Wednesday of its intent to file a lawsuit claiming the agencies...</div> </td> <td style="text-align:right;padding:16px 12px 16px 0;"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </a></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275123"><br></div><div></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274850"> </div><h1 style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274963">Hoopa Valley Tribe warns of lawsuit over salmon fishing rules</h1><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274964"><figure id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274965"><figcaption id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274967">The Hoopa Valley Tribe claims federal agencies and a fishery management council violated the Endangered Species Act when it approved this year’s West Coast salmon season regulations. The tribe states it plans to file a lawsuit against the agencies in 60 days in an effort to protect against impacts to Klamath River coho salmon, which are listed as threatened under the act. <span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274968">NOAA Fisheries — Contributed</span></figcaption></figure></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274969"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274970">By <a href="http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20180718/hoopa-valley-tribe-warns-of-lawsuit-over-salmon-fishing-rules#author1" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20180718/hoopa-valley-tribe-warns-of-lawsuit-over-salmon-fishing-rules%23author1&source=gmail&ust=1532098754704000&usg=AFQjCNEKLTSBjuvawb0sXHAAYj6n1Ff8Cw" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274971">Will Houston</a>, Eureka Times-Standard</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274972"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274973">Posted: <time datetime="" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274974">07/18/18, 9:56 PM PDT</time> <span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274975">|</span> <time datetime="" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274976">Updated: 4 hrs ago</time></div><a href="http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20180718/hoopa-valley-tribe-warns-of-lawsuit-over-salmon-fishing-rules#disqus_thread" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20180718/hoopa-valley-tribe-warns-of-lawsuit-over-salmon-fishing-rules%23disqus_thread&source=gmail&ust=1532098754704000&usg=AFQjCNHvrLPFHy-lESF9gWyTIPueFbd2JQ" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274977">0 Comments</a></div></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274978"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274979">The Hoopa Valley Tribe notified federal agencies <span data-term="goog_2026255200" tabindex="0" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274980"><span style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274981">Wednesday</span></span> of its intent to file a lawsuit claiming the agencies failed to follow their own protocols that are meant to protect Endangered Species Act-listed coho salmon when they approved this year’s salmon fishing regulations. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274982">“Whether it’s in the ocean or in the river, we’re going to hold the federal agencies accountable,” Hoopa Valley Fisheries Director Mike Orcutt said <span data-term="goog_2026255201" tabindex="0" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274983"><span style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274984">Wednesday</span></span>. “If it’s affecting these species that are [on] the brink of being extirpated, then we’re concerned about it and I think you need to reconsult, you need to have dialogue directly with the tribe so we understand the overall effects that it’s going to have on the fish that we’re dependent upon.” </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274985"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274986"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274987">The tribe claims the Pacific Fishery Management Council — which makes recommendations to federal agencies on West Coast fishing rules and catch limits — deviated from historical precedent this year in how it calculates the amount of salmon that are allowed to be harvested and also how that harvest affects species listed under the Endangered Species Act, specifically coho salmon from the Rogue and Klamath rivers.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274988">While coho salmon are a protected species under the act, the federal government allows a certain amount of them to be killed incidentally.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274989"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274990"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274991">The Hoopa Valley Tribe’s attorney Thomas Schlosser told the Times-Standard that a 1999 biological opinion by the National Marine Fisheries Service allows for only 13 percent of returning coho salmon from the Klamath and Rogue rivers to be killed, which includes deaths caused by fish harvesting. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274992">Back in March, the Pacific Fishery Management Council released a preseason report that determined its proposed fishing regulations would cause up to 12.9 percent of coho salmon would be killed if it allowed up to 9 percent of returning Chinook salmon to be harvested. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274993"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274994"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274995">The tribe claims in its notice that after seeing these numbers, the council’s salmon technical team made a “sudden change” to its calculation methods. This produced more favorable numbers in an April report, with the number of Chinook salmon being harvested increasing to 11 percent and the number of coho salmon being killed dropping to only 5.5 percent.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274996">The tribe argues that had the council used its original calculation method and allowed for 11 percent of Chinook salmon to be harvested, the number of coho salmon that would killed would be “in excess” of what’s allowed.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274997"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274998"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_274999">But the alleged violation of the Endangered Species Act is not in the numbers themselves, but rather because the agencies didn’t follow protocol when it decided to alter its calculation methods. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275000">Schlosser said the 1999 biological opinion requires the National Marine Fisheries Service and Pacific Fishery Management Council to consult with one another if new information is made available about the potential impacts to these listed coho salmon.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275001">Schlosser said the council’s salmon technical team might have been right to change the calculation method, but because it was new information, it required reconsultation under the protocol the National Marine Fisheries Services and the council operates under.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275002"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275003"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275004">The tribe is calling on the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the council to rescind the approval of these fishing limits and instead adopt catch limits using the same methods used in the past — which would mean a lower harvest than is already allowed. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275005">Salmon fishing in local ocean water began in May. The National Marine Fisheries Service and Department of Commerce declined to comment.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275006">Contacted by the Times-Standard <span data-term="goog_2026255202" tabindex="0" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275007"><span style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275008">on Wednesday</span></span>, Pacific Fishery Management Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy said it was the first he had heard about the tribe’s intent to file litigation. </div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275009"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275010"></div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275011">Tracy said the council itself technically cannot be sued because it is managed under the National Marine Fisheries Service. Schlosser said this might be “wishful thinking” on Tracy’s part.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275012">Tracy and other council staff did not provide further comment regarding the tribe’s claims.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275013">The Endangered Species Act requires a 60-day notice to be given to an agency accused of violating the Endangered Species Act before a lawsuit can be filed.</div><div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275014"><em id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1531859910881_275015">Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.</em></div></div></body></html>