I HATE POACHERS!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO DO TO STOP POACHING!!!!!!!!!

[Cutthroat_52]

Today, I went to the S. Fork of the Stillaguamish, near Jordan Road. It is a nice park called Riverscene Park. I had been there until sunset the night before, and had seen only one other person fishing. Today, I came back and went to a favorite spot to cast and looked into the water and saw four fish carcasses. I pulled them out of the water, and set all of them further up the bank near a rock. There turned out to be 4 salmon and two more tails of other fish (steelhead?!)

At least 2 of the fish appeared to be Chinook salmon, the other two were could have been Coho or steelhead and the two tails only fish were steelhead probably. They were fully fileted and whoever caught them thought that they could get away with dumping the remains, which ended up not floating down river.

I was so ANGRY!!!!!!! I called 911 asking for a WDFW agent and the operator had no idea of what I was talking about, and switched me to the WSP, saying it was under their jurisdiction. They took no interest, took my name and number and said someone would call me back (they haven't of course). Coincidentally, a Snohomish County Parks person happened to come buy to pick up trash. I showed here the carcasses and she said that while she was sorry, there was nothing she could do about it. She said that she had once come across people "snagging" fish who had buckets filled with wild steelhead and salmon who didn't speak English and gestured that they didn't know about "rules" or having valid licenses, etc and were let go with a warning. There apparently, according to her is only one WDFW agent, a young woman for all of Snohomish County.

Friends, these were wild fish, adapose fins attached, taken away from the gene pool. What are YOU willing to do? Would you be willing to help patrol parking lots late at night? Would you be willing to set up motion cameras, or what ever it takes to find evidence for convicting someone?

I have been fishing almost every day this summer, and have NEVER seen a WDFW agent or anyone else to ask me about my license or even just appear there, even thought places like Hazel, Oso, Cicero, Jordan Road, Hell Creek, etc are almost legendary.

Am I the only one outraged enough to do something? Has anyone ever mentioned in passing to a stranger, "Oh, do you have a fishing license?" or "Did you know (treble hooks), (buzz bombs) or what ever are not allowed on this river? I saw a gentleman just a few days ago, sneak up to Canyon Creek with his bait casting equipment who suddenly came back to his car almost running and left as quickly as he could. I wonder what was in his pocket!!!!

I am hoping these pictgures will give you an idea. A one-dollar bill is about 6-1/4 inches long. This gives you an idea of the size of these wild fish.

John Anderson004.jpg002.jpg

[Bob Jones]

DAMN Thats bad!!! I'm too old and broken down to do much but I keep watch and have charged cell phone in pocket ready for a call to 911 or the wdfw # programed in. THanks for the word.

[ribka]

Good on you Cutthroat- 52. Everytime I see a poacher I take and pic and call WSP or WDFW..

Good job being proactive!!!

[Lugan]

Cutthroat 52 - That really sucks. The photos make it viscerally disgusting.

To answer your question about what I'm willing to do: Call the cops. I occasionally talk with poachers to tell them they're in violation of rules, but that feels unsafe more often than not, so I let the cops deal with it. Most of the poaching I see is within city limits of Redmond and Bellevue, so I call their respective police departments' non-emergency numbers. I've called the State Patrol's non-emergency number a few times as well in other locations near major highways (e.g., when fishing the Yakima). I call WDFW only when I am off the beaten path (e.g., MF Snoqualmie) because I know, as you noted, their enforcement officers are few and far between.

[fodf]

Judging from tails first, and heads second, looks like salmon each to me. Who ever this bastard is, they know their shit when it comes to filleting. If I were closer, I'd be up to a "block watch".

[Bert]

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
NEWS RELEASE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
July 13, 2010
Contact: Deputy Chief Mike Cenci, (360) 902-2938


Text a tip on fish and wildlife violations


OLYMPIA –Reporting poaching and other fish and wildlife violations to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) just got easier.

WDFW has added a new text-messaging option for reporting activity that threatens fish, wildlife and critical habitat. Tip411 allows users to send a text message to WDFW’s communications dispatch center.

“We have a limited number of fish and wildlife officers in the field, so the public plays a critical role in protecting our natural resources by reporting violations,” said Chief Bruce Bjork, who heads WDFW’s enforcement program. “Text messaging is a quick and easy way to report violations.”

The text reporting system is powered by Minnesota-based Citizen Observer, a private vendor under contract with WDFW. The system removes the texter’s name and replaces it with an alias before the message arrives at WDFW’s communications center, said WDFW Deputy Chief Mike Cenci. When necessary, the system allows the reporting party and the on-duty fish and wildlife officer to exchange text messages in real time, Cenci said.

WDFW enforcement officials ask anyone who witnesses a potential violation to collect as much information as possible without confronting the individual under suspicion. Bjork said helpful information includes license plate numbers, vehicle color and make, the type of violation, the time it occurred and a description of the individual or individuals involved.

Tips should be sent to 847411 (Tip411). The message must begin with the letters WDFWTIP followed by a space, and then a brief description of the violation and location.

Go to http://wdfw.wa.gov/poaching/ for more information about how to report emergency and non-emergency fish and wildlife violations. The site includes instructions for texting, phone numbers and direct links to the email and online reporting options. The site also contains a link to Crime Observation Reporting Training (CORT) provided by the Eyes In the Woods association and WDFW enforcement officers.

To report Aquatic Invasive Species violations call toll free at 1-888-933-9247. Violations also can be reported to any WDFW regional office, or by calling the Washington State Patrol Communications Center (see local phone directories).

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/release.php?id=jul1310a

[Hillbilly Redneck]

Is it possible these fish are carcasses from the tribes broodstock progam? I saw them getting ready to net up at Hazel a couple of weeks ago. One of the guys told me they had a hard time getting their fish this year. They take something like 75 pairs I think he said.

[Cutthroat_52]

Why would the tribe(s) leave fileted carcasses behind? Or have to do the "dirty work" in secret in the middle of the night?

[Hillbilly Redneck]

Maybe the meat was used for something. Food Bank? Carcasses seed the river with nutrients. I have no idea what time of day you spotted the carcasses. If it was first thing in the morning they could have dumped them 5 minutes before you showed up. Just throwing out other possiblilities.

[bigman]

HERE IS WHAT TO DO WHEN REPORTING POACHING:

The WDFW Poaching hotline only works Mon-Fri 8-5 excluding holidays and state furlough days. The WDFW Texting program in which you can text violations are sent to that same office, so the only texts that will be read and sent to an officer are those sent during normal business hours. So for example if you text in a violation at 7 pm Friday night, WDFW will not read it until 8 am Monday morning.

In all hunting and fishing pamphlets there are Washington State Patrol numbers which you can call 24/7/365 to report a fishing/hunting violation. I have talked to many wdfw officers and they actually prefer you call WSP because they are open 24/7/365 and that even when the poaching hotline is staffed, WSP are faster about gettting info to the field officers. There are plans for the poaching hotline to go 24/7/365 but that won't happen until funding is reached so probably another 5 years.

So if you see a violation call your local Washington State Patrol office, they dispatch WDFW Officers 24/7/365. The numbers are in the hunting and fishing pamphlets. If for some reason you call 911 immediately state "non emergency poaching state patrol please" and they will connect you to WSP. City cops are not trained in fish and wildlife law enforcement and usually just tell the violators to leave the area because they don't know which statues are required to issue a citation.

As far as there only being 1 WDFW officer for Snohomish County, that is DEAD WRONG. I know for a fact that there are 7 WDFW Officers in Snohomish County

[Hillbilly Redneck]

I just sent John Drotts, the Stillaguamish natural resources manager an email asking him about the broodstock program and directed him to this discussion. I'll post his response if I get one.

[bigman]

Cutthroat,

I forgot to add, the term "Wildlife Agent" or "WDFW Agent" hasn't been around since 1994. So that might have added some additional confusion. They are Fish and Wildlife Officers, not Wildlife Agents, in fact many get ticked off if you call them a agent.

[Cutthroat_52]

Thanks, Hillbilly!

[Evan Burck]

Mayhaps we should add a directory on this site to local WSP offices?

[bigman]

Mayhaps we should add a directory on this site to local WSP offices?

Just look in the hunting and fishing regs. They are in there every year...... I personally keep the numbers for the areas I am frequently fishing/hunting in in my cell. And if i am in a different area I always have the regs with me and just look it up and call the number.