Release Wild Steelhead

Wild Winter Steelhead are a staple to southern Oregon and the communities and ecosystems that call it home. Despite a lack of data about population health and the fishery, it is still legal to kill and harvest a wild Winter Steelhead of the Rogue and south coast. The bottom line is, we don’t know whether wild steelhead harvest is sustainable. That's why this season we need to ensure we minimize our impact on wild fish by releasing wild Winter Steelhead. By minimizing our impact now, we can help ensure that these populations are healthy and abundant long into the future.

Wild Steelhead in southern Oregon need your voice. We need anyone and everyone to stand up and ask sport anglers to #releasewildsteelhead throughout the Pacific Northwest and especially the waters of southern Oregon. Regardless of political pressures, and social influences, Native Fish Society will continue to support a wild sustainable long-term fishery and ecosystem in southern Oregon asking anglers to #releasewildsteelhead!

As you may know, last month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 5-2 to adopt regulations to continue the harvest of wild winter Steelhead on the Rogue and South Coast. This was the commission supporting the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) staff recommendation even though ODFW doesn’t have the basic data necessary to manage a sustainable wild Steelhead kill or harvest fishery.

Southern Oregon is one of the only places left in North America in which sport anglers can harvest wild Steelhead and ODFW believes this management style is sustainable. Let’s stand up and show the importance of wild fish by sharing our #releasewildsteelhead story this winter season.

As part of our larger campaign, #wildsteelheadstory, we ask all sport anglers throughout the Pacific Northwest to share their experiences with wild winter Steelhead. Whether you're fishing the waters of southern Oregon or the Olympic Peninsula, Native Fish Society wants to hear your story. We need momentum and advocacy showing folks that regardless of regulations, we will do what is right for wild fish.

For more information about this work please email Native Fish Society at info@nativefishsociety.org. We are excited to learn and hear more about your interaction with wild fish this season!