Smelt may join endangered-species list

A silver 6-inch-long oily fish that once teemed through coastal rivers in Washington, Oregon and California is the latest candidate for the Endangered Species Act.

Federal scientists will give the Pacific smelt, or eulachon, a close look for possible federal protection, the agency in charge of endangered fish announced Wednesday.

The decision by the NOAA Fisheries Service comes in response to a 2007 petition by the Cowlitz Tribe of Southwest Washington. The tribe urged protection as smelt populations in the Columbia River and such tributaries as the Cowlitz River have plunged and smelt have vanished from other rivers.

Cowlitz Tribal Chairman John Barnett called the news "long overdue."

"No one else seemed to be taking action, and we didn't want to see this important part of our heritage disappear," he said in a news release.

If the fish gets on the Endangered Species Act list, it could trigger restrictions on activities that might harm the fish, such as dam operations or development that damages spawning areas in rivers.

It's not a sure thing the fish will get protection. Wednesday's decision sets in motion a potentially drawn-out process. As early as this fall, federal officials could determine whether to protect the fish. If they say it's warranted, there's a yearlong review of the proposal before a final decision.

The fish spend three to five years in the ocean before returning to spawn in rivers. Historically the fish spawned as far south as the Sacramento River in California and north into Alaska.

They are now feared extinct from the Klamath River in Oregon and Northern California and possibly the Sacramento River.

The species is different from the surf smelt found in Puget Sound.

The tribe blames dams on the Cowlitz River and sediment from Mount St. Helens for the declines there. The small fish is popular among anglers, who use nets to scoop up fish heading upriver to spawn in the early spring.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com