November Presidents MessageToday the average sportfisher doesn’t understand what’s happened in our fisheries world. There is no book to tell you why we are not fishing when we should. Endangered Species Act is the biggest contributor for not being able to fish. Hatchery Science Review Group (HSRG) was formed after ESA. It was intended to bring back more wild fish. This became a federal entity. Long term it was a failed experiment. But they put pHOS into the Hatchery and Genetic Management plans (HGMPs or blueprint of the rivers on how many hatchery fish can be raised in each river system). The problem is that pHOS (proportion or percentage/ratio of hatchery fish on the spawning beds) was built into federal fish management. We were successful in removing HSRG from the WDFW Salmon Policy. But it is still in federal plans.Issues causing us not to fish:
1. pHOS to this day is used on our rivers. When the ratio of clipped fish carcasses gets too high, then Wild Fish organizations sue to shut down production and hatcheries. This is based from the carcass counts on the redds. pHOS needs to be removed from fish management.
2. Years ago, chinook and coho were taken away from the nontribal commercials in the Puget Sound and given to the recreationals. Only a couple of small nontribal commercial chinook fisheries exist today. One in Hood Canal and Samish Bay still exist. Nontribal commercials were given chums and pinks. We removed the only tool in the tool box to gauge the run sizes. Our NT commercials were the ones that could update the run size. Look at the last two years where we have had huge runs of fish returns. We are sitting on the beach. Losing that tool in the Puget Sound now shows devastating. Hook and line angling is known to not to be efficient enough to catch the required number of fish.
3. We fish open saltwater and impact multiple ESA listed fish. They assign portions of ESA fish across the board in certain areas to capture how many ESA fish were affected. If we wanted to go with dead fish counts, we would be moved back into the river mouths so we do not affect other river system’s fish. Wild Fish Conservancy is pushing for fishing to move into the terminal areas. This was just shown in a meeting that tribes brought to my attention.
4. Our Chinook runs were fished out about 130 years ago when canning was invented. They could can more fish than the rivers could produce. Fish were wiped out. There are no “Wild” or pure gene strains of Chinook left in Washington state.
5. Rivers in Washington state that with no Chinook hatcheries have gone extinct. Other fish have been used to replace them.
6. When DNA came into salmon fisheries, we had already been moving stocks of fish all over the state. When a river crashed, they took fish from another system to rebuild it. Enter DNA and now that fishery must be rebuilt with the small amount left in that river. This makes recovery long. Sometimes the wild fish organizations sue to not touch those remaining fish. It will take many generations to rebuild those rivers.
7. When wild fish organizations sue and lose, typically they are awarded expenses. In my book this is not a loss.
This should help you understand what is happening and why PSA is fighting to rebuild fishing in our state. Join your local PSA Chapter and help us change this.
Did you know that some
yelloweye rockfish that are here today were
Washington residents before it became a state in 1889? They have been and
continue to be an important part of our heritage.
Halibut and bottomfish fishing have also been a part of Washington’s
culture for hundreds of years. Many generations of fishermen have relied on
halibut and bottomfish for food and recreation.
Fishery Management
A recent stock
assessment indicates that the yelloweye rockfish
population has declined over 80% from its initial level. As a result,
immediate action must be taken if the stocks of these long-lived fish are
to be rebuilt.
To rebuild yelloweye rockfish populations, the harvest
opportunities for this species must be severely curtailed. In recent
years, the Pacific Fishery Management Council has set yelloweye rockfish harvest levels for all commercial, recreational, and tribal
fisheries combined for California, Oregon, and Washington of about 17
metric tons (mt). This number includes yelloweye rockfish that are discarded at sea.
The Washington
recreational harvest target is about 2.7 mt (fewer than 1,000 fish) in coastal waters. To put this in
perspective, in 2001, the Washington recreational fishery harvested 15 mt.
Halibut Fishery in Jeopardy
Yelloweye rockfish, in general, are harvested during the Washington
recreational halibut fishery. If the yelloweye rockfish catch is projected to exceed 2.7 mt,
then Pacific ocean waters adjacent to Washington outside 25 fathoms will be
closed to recreational bottomfish fishing
(including halibut).
If yelloweye rockfish cannot be
avoided when anglers are targeting halibut, then we may have to close
recreational halibut fishing in the future to protect yelloweye rockfish. Because the yelloweye rockfish
stock may not be rebuilt for over 100 years, the problem of managing the yelloweye fishery will continue through our lifetime;
however, you have the ability to help save the halibut fishery now and
preserve the yelloweye resource for the future.
Yelloweye Rockfish Facts:
· Live
to be 120 years old
· Range
extends from Mexico to Alaska
· Found
in deeper, rocky bottom areas
· Slow growing,low productive species
· Reddish-orange
in color with bright yelloweye
· Commonly
called "red snapper"
· Often
spend their entire lifetime on one rockpile
How You Can Help
· If you
are participating in the recreational halibut or bottomfish fishery, please avoid areas that are known to have yelloweye rockfish.
· If you
do accidentally catch a yelloweye, please return
to the water s soon as possible.
· Help
spread the word to others about the severity of the yelloweye rockfish depleted population and the possible consequences of not avoiding yelloweye areas
· If you
do not know what areas may have yelloweye rockfish, please consult a local resort, motel, or charter office or other
expert before fishing
