WA Changing Estimate Of Fish Consumption

Yakama tribal member Alan Tahsequah spends each spring and summer along the banks of the Yakima and Columbia rivers, catching fish for his family.

"I have five kids, plus I keep some extra for friends," the 35-year-old said while fishing near the Parker Dam on the Yakima River one recent afternoon.

Roughly 20 miles upriver in the Yakima Canyon is where sportsman Jack Schuler fishes for dinner. The 74-year-old said he catches enough so he and his wife can eat fish three times a week.

"We eat everything I catch," he said as he walked from the river's bank one recent evening. "It keeps the cholesterol down."

Thanks to a long coastline and numerous rivers and streams, the state has an abundant supply of fish. Nearly 30 Native American tribes rely heavily on fish for food. There's also a large sport-fishing community and state officials say more people are eating fish in Washington state than almost anywhere else in the country.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Yakima Herald-Republic