Originally Posted By: smelt
Of course not, Jerry. Sport fishing, if prudently managed with either catch-and-release or very limited catch-and-keep regulations on wild fish (such as winter steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula), can be conducted by a large number of people every day with relatively limited impact on the resource. There also is an active enforcement mechanism for checking catch limits and licenses. And, as you know very well, entire rivers are closed every year to fishing for one reason or another. How is suction dredging, as currently regulated, enforced, and conducted in Washington and given its potential to damage streams, similar to sport fishing? I don't think they are at all.

I've argued at length in this forum that suction dredging needs a licensing requirement and genuine, active monitoring and enforcement in the field (at the very least), so it's obviously pointless for me to repeat those arguments. If you think suction dredging is inherently harmless or environmentally insignificant and our current rules don't require any changes (as your comment suggests), then we simply differ. Fisheries managers in Oregon, Idaho, and California have reached conclusions similar to my own, though.


Suction dredging is regulated - Work windows , allowed equipment and seasons are set by the same State biologists that regulate fish and wildlife. Without listing them all again I would direct your attention to page 1 of the Gold and Fish and continuing to the end of page 6. You will find 14 Federal, State, Local and Tribal authorities that have input into our activities.

Suction dredging is enforced - Each of the above mentioned authorities exert jurisdiction for enforcement over our activities. The penalties are not lax either. Catch one fish to many and y ou get a $100 ticket. Violate the guidelines of the Gold and Fish or your HPA and you lose your gear and face a potential $10k fine and imprisionment.

I completely fail to understand how you can say you "dont think we are regulated or enforced at all" unless you are either denying the obvious or choose to ignore it. Fortunately most other people DO THINK and can easily refute your baseless claims.

The mining regulations in California, Idaho and Oregon were created by BIOLOGISTS and they are LESS stringent than Washington.
The dredging moratoriums recently imposed are the creation of POLITICIANS swaying to environmental activists like you and have nothing to do with the regulations created by scientific finding.