Fisheries- Hoopa Valley Tribe

PO Box 417
Hoopa, CA 95546
(530) 625.4267
(530) 625.4995

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department is responsible for the monitoring and reporting of the Fishery for the entire Trinty River Basin. Through funding the the Bureau of Reclamation, BIA Compact, and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the various monitoring activities include fish tagging, weir operations, juvenile outmigrant trapping, screw trap monitoring, creel census, and net harvest monitoring. Much of the data gathered through these monitoring activities is used to estimate future anadromous runs in order to determine allocation between the ocean fishery, Tribal fisheries, and the sports fishery.

Along with the monitoring and reporting, Hoopa Tribal Fisheries takes several measures to ensure optimal spawning habitat and rearing grounds in our seven major tributaries located within the Hoopa Reservation. Through habitat typing, channel moprphology characterization, and sediment loading analysis, Tribal Fisheries is able to assess local stream habitat and address shortcomings through restoration activities.

The annual run of fall chinook provided sustenance for the Hupa people during the winter months. Like most other West Coast rivers supporting anadromous fish, the Trinity River has experienced a decline in its chinook, steelhead, and coho runs. The Trinity's coho salmon is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. This picture, taken in the early 20th century, shows a traditional fish dam, constructed annually to harvest fall chinook. Enough fish were allowed to pass to allow for both sustenance of upriver tribes and to provide for enough fish for future years.

Our Tribal Fisheries Department co-manages the Trinity River Hatchery with the California Dept of Fish & Game. Every year we mark almost two million juvenile fish. These marked fish identify hatchery from wild fish and provide a method to predict and monitor harvest.