Go fishing. Earn cash. Some pikeminnow worth $500 each

Cash is being paid for northern pikeminnow caught in the Columbia and Snake rivers this month through September during an annual program to reduce their numbers.

Last year the program's top earner was rewarded with nearly $84,000 for the northern pikeminnow he caught and turned in over five months.

The Northern Pikeminnow Reward Fishery Program is paying $5 to $8 per fish this year. The more fish are turned in, the more each fish is worth.

State fish and wildlife biologists also are tagging up to 1,000 northern pikeminnow that are worth $500 each.

Pikeminnow are voracious eaters, consuming millions of young salmon and steelhead each year.

Since 1990, the reward program has reduced the number of salmon and steelhead eaten by pikeminnow by about 40 percent, according to the Bonneville Power Administration, which pays for the program.

Anglers need a fishing license and must register each day at one of 19 stations, one of them at Columbia Point Park in Richland.

For more information, go to www.pikeminnow.org.

This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Go fishing. Earn cash. Some pikeminnow worth $500 each."