Idaho Power Catching Fish Needed To Complete Study Sturgeon To Be Returned To River

Next month, biologists for Idaho Power Co. will go fishing for some big fish.

They aren’t to keep. The biologists want to catch sturgeon, weigh and measure them, and then release them.

It’s the final stage of a four-part study of sturgeon that started in 1991 near the company’s Upper Salmon Dam west of Twin Falls.

The new study will be downstream from Hells Canyon Dam, covering a 59-mile area downstream from the dam to the mouth of the Salmon River. The study is part of Idaho Power’s federal relicensing activities for a dozen of its hydroelectric projects, including the three-dam Hells Canyon complex.

Biologists are gathering information on the huge prehistoric fish to learn more about their health, habitat and usage, and the impact of hydroelectric dams.

Baited set lines are the primary means of collecting sturgeon. Set lines are rigged with a special circle hook that prevents the fish from swallowing it. Since the study started in 1991, there have been no fish deaths caused by the use of set lines.

Biologist Ken Lepla said it’s important that the lines not be disturbed, along with their anchors. Tampering with or vandalizing setlines can injure or kill fish if they cannot be recovered quickly.

“Our lines are set in a manner that allows us to quickly and safely retrieve and remove the sturgeon from the lines,” Lepla said.

Set-line sampling will take place biweekly from September through early November.

After being weighed and measured, a tiny computer chip is attached to the fish for identification purposes. Some sturgeon studied will receive a radiosonic tag used to monitor movement of the fish.