Gill Nets in the Stilly?

[PlateauNDN]

I saw thousands of Pinks being seined near the mouth today. Seems now that the Chum are almost wiped out for their egg roe the Pinks are next.

How can this happen? All those fish wasted because of the demand for caviar in Japan?  Get ready for a pink salmon sport closer coming soon in the next couple years.

Any NDN's on here want to try to justify another 100% waste of our resource?

I'm not going to justify what they're doing because it pisses me off as well.  It's abuse at its worst and I have not seen it personally down here in Yakama but I have witnessed members getting into trouble with the law for trying to do it. 

They are abusing and wasting a natural resource that many enjoy and many do not get to enjoy and I agree with you that it needs to stop.  If they feel the need to dispose of salmon in a careless way then why not donate it to a shelter or something to that affect so it can feed those that go hungry everyday.  Just an idea for now.

[singleshot12]

I certainly hope there is an effort to use the meat. I haven't seen or smelled to the piles yet this year, maybe they're getting better at disposing them    I also hope the Tulalips have some sort of quota too,but then was talking with someone today that says they don't..Somebody besides themselves needs to make sure they do stick to their quota if there is one.

Or it's goodbye Humpy now

[birdmanwa]

I certainly hope there is an effort to use the meat. I haven't seen or smelled to the piles yet this year, maybe they're getting better at disposing them    I also hope the Tulalips have some sort of quota too,but then was talking with someone today that says they don't..Somebody besides themselves needs to make sure they do stick to their quota if there is one.

Or it's goodbye Humpy now

They are suppose to have a quota but when they are suppose to keep track for themselves, we all know they don't follow it. It's a real shame for what they do, they are a bunch of slime. Like previously posted they wiped out the dog salmon and now they will do it to the pinks and then complain to the state on how there is no salmon now and then probably demand more money, so they can sit on their reservations all day and collect tax dollars.

[singleshot12]

you nailed it, worst part is there's nothing you can do about it, it's very depressing 

[birdmanwa]

One thing that really pisses me off is how they are rubbing it in our face. For example my parents are fishing on Beach 1 on Camano and a beach seiner came and dropped a net right next to them. They are true piles of chit. They don't care one bit for what they are doing.

[seth30]

Simple use the media against them, the media is a powerful tool, and has the ability to change things, and with election's coming around the corner you can get some power players on your side.  When you see waste of wildlife and violations of treaty rights take photo's, take videos.  Provide them to the local news, post on forums and youtube

[JimmyHoffa]

They're starting to even lose support amongst some of the pugetropolis crowd.  There was an article in the Seattle Times about the Elwha Dam removal.  The government is spending $325 million to restore the river so the famed 100 lb kings will return.  Even spent $16 million for a newer, larger hatchery for the tribe.  The bios, park, enviros are all hoping it will be this great revival of wild fish.  The tribe was even touting the almost lost runs of salmon/steelhead as such a critical reason for the project.  Talking about how important it is to them culturally to have the fish that their ancestors had.  So what do they do...get non-native steelhead to release so their fisherman will have fish to harvest while awaiting the wild fish to return.  Many of the eviro crowd are upset, and finally seeing that it is all about catching and selling as many fish as possible.

[birdmanwa]

Simple use the media against them, the media is a powerful tool, and has the ability to change things, and with election's coming around the corner you can get some power players on your side.  When you see waste of wildlife and violations of treaty rights take photo's, take videos.  Provide them to the local news, post on forums and youtube

good point, but one person can't do it alone all the sportsman need to do it if we all want the resource to be available for future generations. I will do the best I can. I can't stand it any more. I hate having to determine how fishing was based on if the engines netted or not.

[Button Nubbs]

I hate having to determine how fishing was based on if the engines netted or not.

wow. really dude? completely unnecessary. that makes us look like white trash that just want all the fish for ourselves. of course if you meant engine like vroom vroom engine, my apologies.

[fish vacuum]

Now that netting in the sound has entered the discussion, some people may want to do a little checking before blaming it all on "them."
Between gillnetters and seiners, the commercials are getting up to 4 days a week in Port Susan, Port Gardner, and Skagit Bay. Probably some of the same guys who crushed the chum runs in recent years.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/commercial/salmon/

[singleshot12]

I have never seen so many seiners and gill netters in my whole life as I have this year, mostly tribal too, and netting Pinks like they're going out of style. All for the Roe!!  And I can see why at over a hundred bucks a jar it is very lucrative.
I'm sure there are a few Pinks making it up the river but I can almost also guarantee 2 yrs from now returns will be too low and we won't even be able to catch a Humpy.. Unbelievable . 

[seth30]

Simple use the media against them, the media is a powerful tool, and has the ability to change things, and with election's coming around the corner you can get some power players on your side.  When you see waste of wildlife and violations of treaty rights take photo's, take videos.  Provide them to the local news, post on forums and youtube

good point, but one person can't do it alone all the sportsman need to do it if we all want the resource to be available for future generations. I will do the best I can. I can't stand it any more. I hate having to determine how fishing was based on if the engines netted or not.

we can even have the red star hyprocrites (hippies) do the fighting for us with the proper media leverage

[White Tornado]

This tread has covered several subjects.........Netting in rivers with dangerously low numbers of wild Chinook, fishing for salmon just to harvest the roe and wasting the fish, over harvesting of the fish runs by native and non native commercial fishermen.

I think Sundance makes some very good and valid comments as well as suggestions on what could be done to improve many of the issues that everyone has expressed. Just not sure how a person or group of fishermen can go about trying to fix what seems to be a very badly broken system of fish management in Washington. Many special interest groups all fighting for as big a piece of the pie as they can get without considering the future generations. I worry that my grandchildren will grow up in a state that does not have a salmon run worth fishing.     You would think that the commercial fishermen, native and non native, would feel the same.

[JimmyHoffa]

Agree with above.  As for the 50%, I've heard it is actually 50% plus whatever the commercial and sports fishers don't harvest.  I believe I saw it written somewhere, but can't seem to find it.  There were a bunch a guys in driftboats on the Hoh one day telling the bankfisherman the details.  They all said to just mark the catch record cards as having actually retained a wild steelhead (still allowed on the Hoh).  They said if you mark it, it would account for the sport harvest quota and go towards the non-indian 50%.  If you didn't, then that additional percentage could be made up for by the Indians.

[singleshot12]

That's what worries me the most too, "the future generations".. The Canadians seem to have all their rivers full of all species of salmon, if only we could learn from them on how to better manage our fisheries.
Getting CCA more involved in our neck of the woods might help also.

This tread has covered several subjects.........Netting in rivers with dangerously low numbers of wild Chinook, fishing for salmon just to harvest the roe and wasting the fish, over harvesting of the fish runs by native and non native commercial fishermen.


I think Sundance makes some very good and valid comments as well as suggestions on what could be done to improve many of the issues that everyone has expressed. Just not sure how a person or group of fishermen can go about trying to fix what seems to be a very badly broken system of fish management in Washington. Many special interest groups all fighting for as big a piece of the pie as they can get without considering the future generations. I worry that my grandchildren will grow up in a state that does not have a salmon run worth fishing.     You would think that the commercial fishermen, native and non native, would feel the same.