Anyone know when they net the forks area rivers? Is there somewhere i can look to see when they do it?
truly funny stuff... keep it coming."Meanwhile, the tribal fisheries culture center and fly tying shop will be doing a brisk business. I hear they have a killer lox omelette at the snack bar ...and did you see their new line of Shelm switchers? awesome"
I need to read the reform groups recommendations, but in general funding the hatcheries with more dollars is probably the *worst* thing we can do. Seriously, have you ever calculated the $$$ associated with failed hatchery programs like the Puyallup? 250k Steelhead smolt to only have 100-200 return? That's good money after bad....well, guys, read it for yourself- here's another tidbit from the CCAPNW website: please take note their opinion is informed by the HSRG, (Hatchery Scientific Review Group), a 20 million dollar study that was conducted by the Feds to TRY to get an objective opinion here. And CCA wants to implement their recommendations. Everybody should read up on HSRG, because that's where we're headed. Although hatchery funding is addressed, if hatcheries are trashing steelhead populations in a particular river they'll be on that like stank. The whole idea is starting to make sensible policy decisions.
BTW, WDFW took a 163 million dollar funding cut this year...I think that's the number.
Washington CCA Position Statements
As Approved by the Board on April 12, 2008
Selective Fishing
Ongoing hatchery review and salmon recovery efforts in Washington waters and the
Columbia Basin have made it clear that if we are to restore depleted and ESA-listed
stocks of wild salmon and steelhead, we must reform fishing practices so investments in
hatcheries, habitat improvements, and hydro operations can be fully realized. This will
require widespread use of commercial and recreational fishing methods capable of
targeting stocks strong enough for harvest while minimizing impacts on others. In most
cases this will require live sorting of fish essential to recovery from those that are not - a
process ill-suited to most existing commercial fishing methods. Washington CCA urges
state and federal fisheries management agencies and elected officials to accelerate the
implementation of harvest reform as a critical component of salmon and steelhead
recovery efforts.
Derelict Fishing Gear
The Puget Sound Derelict Fishing Gear Program, conducted by the federally funded
Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC), estimates that there are nearly 4,000 derelict
fishing nets remaining in the waters of Puget Sound. These nets continually ensnare
untold thousands of fish, seabirds, marine mammals and other organisms throughout the
extended life of rot-resistant synthetic mesh. In addition to nets, the bottom of the Sound
is littered with an estimated 14,000 derelict recreational and commercial crab pots
estimated to be killing as many a half a million crabs per year.
The NWSC surveys and gear removal efforts are a valuable contribution to restoring the
ecology of Puget Sound but its efforts, due to the limited size of the program, fall far
short of completing the job. To make matters worse, more derelict gear is continually
added to the accumulations. These problems are not limited to Puget Sound and
doubtlessly exist elsewhere in Washington and in the Columbia River. No state agency is
solely responsible for the removal of the derelict gear nor are there any lost gear reporting
requirements.
Washington CCA supports developing a comprehensive program designed to remove the
vast majority of the offending gear, limit its ongoing joss, assigning a responsible agency,
and creating a logical and adequate funding source to the job.
Hatchery Funding and Reform
Hatcheries have an important role to play in aiding the conservation and recovery of
natural populations of salmon and steelhead while also contributing to sustainable
fisheries. There are hundreds of hatchery programs operating throughout coastal
Washington and the Columbia basin. In recent years, important hatchery review efforts,
including the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG), have illustrated the need for
better funding and operation of state, federal and tribal hatcheries. Washington CCA
supports the important role hatcheries have to play in conserving and sustaining salmon
stocks as well as efforts underway to improve the efficacy of these programs.
Unfortunately, many hatcheries are woefully under funded and have not implemented key
hatchery reforms, including mass marking. The federally-funded Mitchell Act hatcheries
are struggling under inadequate budgets to meet their statutory obligation to mitigate for
the impact of Columbia River dams to salmon and steelhead stocks. Funding has
remained flat for over a decade without increases to address inflation, inadequate
maintenance budgets, or newly required programs such as mass marking. This has
resulted in reduced smolt production from over 110 million migrants per year in 1993 to
less than 65 million currently. Washington CCA urges the federal government to fulfill
its Mitchell Act commitments.
Catch Monitoring and Evaluation
Large-scale fisheries targeting abundant species utilized for industrial purposes or direct
human consumption have a history of detrimentally impacting other important stocks
through by-catch. Although the proportion of the non-target species comprising the bycatch
may be low in comparison to the fishery as a whole, this can have a serious effect
on depleted and ESA-listed stocks. In addition, massive removals of forage fishes can
have a direct impact on the health of non-target stocks, including depleted and ESA-listed
stocks. CCA Washington supports systematic and vigilant programs of professional
catch monitoring and evaluation capable of identifying and correcting any such problems
at an early stage. State and federal fisheries management officials should also take
management action to minimize impacts to depleted and ESA listed stocks.
Harvest Management
Harvests of Pacific Northwest fish stocks often occur at the expense of conservation.
Managers tend to plan harvest to the last fish based largely on pre-season estimates of
abundance that may be higher than reality. Washington CCA believes that management
errors, if they are to occur, should favor conservation. Furthermore, since the fisheries
resources of Washington are the property of present and future generations, harvestable
surpluses should be distributed in a manner that maximizes conservation and the
economic benefits to all citizens of the state.
The Importance of Hatchery Salmon Carcasses for Nutriment
of Freshwater Ecosystems
The importance of marine nutrients and energy-rich carbon delivered to freshwater
ecosystems from adult salmon carcasses is well established. Research has shown that
intentional distribution of hatchery salmon carcasses or manufactured salmon carcass
analogs results in higher juvenile salmon growth rates and abundance.
Reduced wild salmon adult returns to freshwater systems has resulted in significantly less
marine nutrients and energy-rich carbon comprising wild juvenile salmon growth and
abundance as well as the entire ecosystem. Washington CCA recognizes the impact of
this nutrient loss and supports efforts to increase the deliberate distribution of hatchery
salmon carcasses and/or analogs.
Independent scientific reviews have also recognized the positive ecological benefit to
natural salmon stocks from the distribution of salmon carcasses and have recommended
steps to reduce any possible negative impacts to salmon stocks. Washington CCA
supports these findings and recommendations.
Yup, total agreement with this statement. I don't *hate* the CCA, just disagree with their hatchery policy. They've done a *LOT* of good work to date, but I'm not sure if the national organization knew what they were getting into when they added the PNW. Of *all* the places, we've got probably the hardest to solve issue.I think they've got most of the bases covered in terms of policy. I don't think there's a position that could be crafted that would be either perfect or please everybody. I'm all for wild fish, especially steelhead, and I think viable spawning populations of wild fish should be a top priority.