Environmentalists Suing to Cut Salmon Fishing to Save Whales

[JimmyHoffa]

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/groups-sue-to-restrict-salmon-fishing-help-northwest-orcas/

Center for Biological Diversity and Wild Fish Conservacy....suing the government yet again.
No mention of culling a thousand or so seals, though.

[Mfowl]

Uuuggh! Can't have hatcheries, can't go fishing, these people are unbelievable! There's gonna be a lot of boats for sale soon.

[kodiak10]

The thing I don't understand is why the environmental groups don't sue to have some sort of outlaw on whale watching in the sound. The commercial whale watching fleet chasing them around has got to have a negative impact on the whales. It seems to be all about removing the negative impacts on the whales they don't care about and keeping the negative impacts they enjoy.

[hothand21]

Rinella's group had a pretty good discussion on this on their podcast this week. The whales are starving but they also refuse to eat other food sources. Should we protect their food source or let their lack of food diversity remove them from the ocean? No dog in this hunt just think it's an interesting question.

[noffles]

The thing I don't understand is why the environmental groups don't sue to have some sort of outlaw on whale watching in the sound. The commercial whale watching fleet chasing them around has got to have a negative impact on the whales. It seems to be all about removing the negative impacts on the whales they don't care about and keeping the negative impacts they enjoy.

Because people like to blame others and respond emotionally and based on social pressures instead of accepting responsibility as a collective and finding pragmatic solutions. It goes both ways and there is plenty of it happening on here too.

[hothand21]

The thing I don't understand is why the environmental groups don't sue to have some sort of outlaw on whale watching in the sound. The commercial whale watching fleet chasing them around has got to have a negative impact on the whales. It seems to be all about removing the negative impacts on the whales they don't care about and keeping the negative impacts they enjoy.

Because people like to blame others and respond emotionally and based on social pressures instead of accepting responsibility as a collective and finding pragmatic solutions. It goes both ways and there is plenty of it happening on here too.

Preeeeeach!

[Alchase]

The thing I don't understand is why the environmental groups don't sue to have some sort of outlaw on whale watching in the sound. The commercial whale watching fleet chasing them around has got to have a negative impact on the whales. It seems to be all about removing the negative impacts on the whales they don't care about and keeping the negative impacts they enjoy.

And kill that $$ source at $1000.00+ a ticket for getting to close?

[Ricochet]

Just a practice run for their lawsuit to stop deer and elk hunting to provide more food for wolves.

[Stein]

Once the task force report came out, the writing was on the wall.  The task force basically concluded that the only way to save them was to have abundant native chinook.

From there the details come out, the following things are bad for Orcas:

1.  Hatchery chinook - they compete with the native fish and hatcheries are failures in general (opinion of the task force as opposed to actual facts)
2.  Boats - prop noise, impacts, whatever
3.  Fishermen - we catch chinook and love hatchery chinook
4.  Global warming - it affects everything, so the ESA can now be used to hammer home things voters rejected multiple times

Then, there are some wish list global warming items and stormwater runoff they can ram ahead with, but the outlook is not good.

Hopefully the Orcas don't develop a taste for Coho or I'll have to be driving to BC way more often - assuming Canada maintains a level of common sense and science based management.

[fishngamereaper]

Meanwhile the feds support the Makahs desire to resume killing gray whales. Cause everyone I know loves them some whale meat..said no one..

[Stein]

If we were smart, our outdoors associations would be suing WDFW to add more chinook hatcheries and increasing production of existing ones.

[WSU]

I read the complaint.  There are some facts in there that make it clear the feds have a problem.  I haven't read the studies and reports the allegations are based on, so can't verify whether the alleged facts are true or false.  I would assume there is some basis for them, especially when PFMC has come out saying they are going to reduce fishing to save the whales. 

The 75 whales apparently eat an estimated 25 salmon per day per whale. The yearly total is 684,375. Ocean harvest (I assume based on who was sued it only includes WA, OR, and CA) for 2018 was 250,000, plus 65,000 dead bycatch.  Total Chinook killed in 2018 was 315,000. The fisheries reduce Chinook abundance by 18-25 percent.

It's estimated that a 15 percent increase in Chinook, plus noise reduction, will save the whales. The suit only addresses fisheries in WA, OR, and CA but the majority of the ocean harvest occurs in Alaska and Canada.  If the reduction to save the whales is taken only out of WA, OR, and CA, it likely means little to no ocean fishing in those 3 states.  I'm curious why only the west coast fisheries were targeted and not AK.  It may be moot, as NOAA may force AK to share in the pain through the season setting process.

[Stein]

The suit only addresses fisheries in WA, OR, and CA but the majority of the ocean harvest occurs in Alaska and Canada.  If the reduction to save the whales is taken only out of WA, OR, and CA, it likely means little to no ocean fishing in those 3 states.  I'm curious why only the west coast fisheries were targeted and not AK.  It may be moot, as NOAA may force AK to share in the pain through the season setting process.

The left coast is an easy win.  AK will absolutely fight this and by toppling fishing in a few states, they will have momentum and decisions to use to expand.  Same story in BC I would assume, every time I BC logs & lumber rolling by I remember how they treat ESAs in a much different light.

[WSU]

It may be a simple as the numbers being easy to prove.  It's especially helpful that last year we killed almost the exact percent that would be needed to save the whales.  That makes it easy for a judge to quantify.

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Meanwhile the feds support the Makahs desire to resume killing gray whales. Cause everyone I know loves them some whale meat..said no one..

Actually whale is super tasty. So, now someone’s said it.