I must be the only one who doesn't know the secret of targeting Canadian fish over Alaskan fish. :roll:
Trnaround
2013-11-02 15:40:34
Drew you should put away those Canadian Wonder spoons that's the problem. A comment like Kurt's shows frustration and a desire to spin opinion to help the cause. Overfishing? 176,000 Chinook with a 6 day season? That's not overfishing that is co-operation. Let's not forget how those runs got to the point they are. Let's dam the Columbia River and then complain the runs on the upper Snake are threatened and blame overfishing. Put in hatcheries to mitigate and mismanage them and then take them out because now they seem to be the problem. Canada catches Washington and Oregon fish, Washington catches Oregon and California fish,Oregon catches Washington and California fish. There are so many other issues to attend to but this "overfishing in SE" is an easy target but not the problem. Kurt should look elsewhere for the causes of threatened wild runs
and quit insulting those that are co-operating. By the way Kurt is not Canadian he operates out of Washington State and his wild fish only attitude has greatly influenced fishery policy there.
John Murray
2013-11-04 19:20:33
Whats up with MSC endorcement?I thought we pulled away from that group in favor of a group put together by the seiners?
On the other side of this groups mission seem to be bent on getting rid of mixed stock fisheries and hatcheries.The sky is falling in 2013 with record salmon runs in Alaska and the Columbia river,it looks like the West Coast did well also.
I'd suggest this group focus on in river habitat issues ,harvest practices in river and the general poor management of salmon in BC.We aren't really the bad guys here.
While I'm open to a look at hatchery impacts lets be honest about hatchery outputs.They have saved our bacon for the troll fleet.Look at the harvest records of coho in SE ,there were years where our troll catch was under a million.Hatcheries have helped round out those major swings in the wild stock numbers.This year hatchery coho made up close to 30% of our catch.
Salty
2013-11-05 00:29:43
What got me outraged was the statement that Alaska trollers didn't have a conservation ethic toward the Canadian and South 48 Chinook. Whether it is Save our wild Salmon, with Alaska Troller Joel Kawahara on their board, or donating and writing to remove the Elwah and Snake river dams, or sitting on a panel at fish expo explaining to the founder of "Save our Dams" why they needed to go, to participating in films or news interviews to communicate Alaska troller's concern for Wild Chinook in BC and South, I and other Alaska, and South 48 trollers have been doing our best.
I applaud the efforts of almost all salmon conservation groups, and have done my best within my industry to make it the cleanest, best managed salmon fishery producing the best quality salmon possible.
Having been a Forest, marine, and salmon conservation warrior for decades I know that sometimes these groups can not afford the best help, thus a Beardslee. Or perhaps he was just overworked that day and slipped up. God knows I have had a few of those over the years highlighted by the State Department demand( thru the NPFMC) that I apologize for a comment about Japanese high seas gillnetters at a public meeting. Perhaps we should ask our Governor to ask Jay Inslee to ask Beardslee for an apology.
In any event it is no accident that SEAlaska runs are in Great shape.
It is no accident there is no salmon farming in Alaska.
It is no accident that the pulp mills and associated industrial clearcutting are all but dead in SE Alaska.
It is no accident that the trawl by-catch of salmon in SE Alaska is Zero! No trawling, no by-catch.
It is no accident that there is only one sac roe herring fishery left in SE.
It is no accident that our hatchery association in Northern SE has only been permitted to build two hatcheries since it's inception in 1976. Alaska has the best wild salmon protection legislation and regulations in the world. It is in our State constitution.
If the salmon conservation groups in Canada and the South 48 want to conserve their salmon they should be hiring and studying Alaska's success instead of trying to blame us for their failures.
Salty
2013-11-05 00:35:22
John, the Purse Seiners Association is pursuing and paying for MSC certification for Alaska's salmon. All of us Alaska salmon fishermen should be thanking them with a donation in my opinion.
Salty
2013-11-05 00:41:42
One well managed Sac roe herring purse seine fishery left in SE. Did I mention Alaska salmon fishermen leading the charge to stop high seas salmon gillnetting.
Did I mention the drive for statehood fueled by fishermen wanting to get rid of salmon traps.