CACHE COUNTY, Utah — Hundreds of people from near and far are visiting the east fork of the Little Bear River near Porcupine Reservoir to witness the kokanee salmon spawn this time of year.
Unfortunately, it’s been documented time and time again that lots of people are disrupting the salmon, which could hurt the overall population in the future.
“We’ve got a lot of reports of people trying to catch the salmon, even people fishing for them and keeping them, wading around through the waters — all that stuff that’s harassing the salmon while they’re spawning,” said Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Conservation Officer Nick Vidrine. “Right before I came up here, I got another phone call about it, so we’ve had several this year already.”
The salmon swim against the current in the tributary to lay their eggs and reproduce. It’s the same area that they were born in.
“People don’t realize when they’re walking in the water, even if they don’t think they’re stepping on a fish necessarily, they’ve laid their eggs in the water,” said Vidrine. “We encourage everybody to come up and check it out, see the salmon — they’re really cool. We just say watch from a distance, be respectful, look but don’t touch.”
People who’ve visited this area, especially on recent weekends, have been noticing both children and adults running through the creek, hitting and poking the fish with sticks, wading through the water and even capturing the kokanee.
“People need to respect nature and respect the fish, otherwise they won’t be there,” said Michelle Johnnie, who visited the area recently and confronted some people who were harassing the salmon. “We just told them, 'You need to get out of the stream because it’s disrupting the fish,' and they said, ‘Well, other people are doing it,’ and I’m like, ‘It hurts the fish.’”
Interfering with the salmon spawn is not only harmful to salmon and the reproduction process, but it’s also illegal.
“From September 10th to November 30th, it’s illegal to possess any kokanee salmon,” said Vidrine. “It’s also illegal any time you’re to harass the fish, so that includes walking up and down the streamline, trying to catch them, all that stuff.”
Harassing wildlife can result in a citation, which is a Class-B misdemeanor charge with a fine upwards of $300. DWR has issued citations related to the salmon spawn and inappropriate behavior, but they’ve tried to issue more verbal warnings to educate people first.
“I would hate for us to block off access and allow people not to get close enough to [the kokanee],” said Vidrine. “That would be an option, or... if we don’t stock them, that would be another possibility; we don’t want that to happen, so we’d rather people watch from a distance.”
It’s encouraged that people report any wildlife harassment, poaching or other insensitive behavior to the DWR. Reports can be made 24/7 online or via the "Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher" (UTiP) hotline: 1-800-662-3337.
"Visitors should also not disturb the spawning fish by wading into the water, trying to pick the fish up or allowing their dogs to chase the fish," the DWR wrote in a recent news release.
