Help Sportfishing Win in Court

With your contribution, we can continue to fight for the rights of sportfishing in the Pacific Northwest!​

Our work has led to some amazing results that will continue to make sure there are plenty of fish for Northwest anglers. These issues impact every member of the NSIA, whether you are a major corporate sponsor or an individual member.

Here are many legal issues NSIA is involved in:

Keeping Hatcheries Open
The Wild Fish Conservancy is suing to shut down vital hatcheries here in the Northwest, endangering millions of salmon, and steelhead smolt releases. Most of our harvestable fish come from these hatcheries, and their closure would be a disaster for the sportfishing industry. We can fight to keep the hatcheries operational, but we need resources. By donating, you help with our legal fees and a big increase in staff time. We have won hatchery lawsuits before and we can win again, but we need your help. We’ve gained significant ground in these issues in Oregon and with your help can do the same in Washington using our experience and collaborative approach to assure the future of hatcheries.

Gillnet Restrictions
In Oregon and Washington, NSIA was involved in new rules that changed the allocation of Columbia River fish for commercial gillnetters and put in motion a phasing out period of gillnet use on the main channel, shifting the commercial fishing to off-channel hatchery sites. These decisions have led to lawsuits which are taking resources from the NSIA and we need your help to continue this effort. This one issue has been fought over three decades by NSIA and it’s not over yet. As we continue to pursue solutions that benefit all the stakeholder groups and the fish, we are constantly engaged in maintaining the agreements we have forged and future we see for Northwest’s most productive sportfishery.

Lethal Take of Sea Lions
As a Northwest angler, one of the most frustrating things you face when you have a salmon or steelhead on the line is a sea lion taking your catch. It’s not only frustrating but dangerous when a 1,000-pound animal is charging the boat as you try to land your fish…and it happens daily in some Northwest fisheries. NSIA has been directly involved in a successful lawsuit against the U.S. Humane Society to support the ODFW plan to use force against these problem predators. This is both an ESA issue and a human safety issue for sport anglers.

Thankfully, we have made tremendous strides in addressing the sea lion issue. Frankly, our success has far eclipsed any other effort in the country. Our approach with sea lions has been measured, scientific, intelligent, and ethical. The results speak for themselves as steelhead counts over Willamette Falls jumped in 2020 and the number of problem animals has been dramatically reduced with new and even more aggressive guidelines in place for the coming years.

All three of these issues take resources, and while NSIA has a great volunteer legal team, there are still expenses with being involved in these important cases that will keep us on the rivers. We need your support to continue to be involved in issues like these, which help us keep fisherman on our rivers, streams and lakes.

NSIA depends on supporters like you, who care about our industry and want to foster, promote and grow sportfishing in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

If you have any questions about these issues or how your donation will be used, contact me at 503-631-8859 or nsializ@aol.com.

Regards,
Liz Hamilton, NSIA Executive Director