https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/12/23/from...shing-industry/

Got this from an Ifish thread. Pretty good read

Apathy and lack of awareness by the general public, greed, suppression of the truth, and politics have led us here.

GREED!

I'd like to see this reported in the Seattle Times, the New York Times, everywhere.
fb

12/27/2024

Thanks for posting

The following stood out to me.........grrrrrrrrrrr


"In 2023, Seattle trawlers caught 10 killer whales in their massive nets. Nine died. "

OK easy! Stop fishing! F those that rape and pilage with zero remorse.
The powers that be... NOAA need to start thinkin to shift to a conservation approach to harvest. No commercial fisheries should exist that decimate other species! Oh! that does'nt fit into the Seattle fishing fleets business plan. F Them! What's next?

There is a page on Facebook devoted to stopping the AK trawling with lots of information on bycatch. Plus, lots of information of the political machinations to keep it going.

I pinged the Times' news rooms on this. Killing orca's would get the yuppie fleece vest set motivated to change things. Marginalizing tribal fishing same. I believe there is even a dead orca bycatch quota. . .that's pretty messed up.
fb

We, America and Washington have a long history of by catch. In 1983 on the O.P. a big return of coho to the Dungeness hatchery was predicted, so a gillnet season was promulgated, but only in Dungeness Bay to reduce interception of other salmon runs. We fishcops patrolled the gillnet debacle and witnessed as thousands of crab were netted, destroyed and dumped back into the bay. "We're salmon managers" was the reply and we were told not to enforce the wastage statutes. Pacific cod populations near Port Angeles were wiped out by draggers along with local halibut. What happened to the tom cod and pollock in central and south Puget Sound? Why is it that Seattle based commercial salmon fishers can intercept our endangered salmon runs in another state (Alaska) and sell these endangered fish in Seattle? Why do we have a Columbia River gillnet fishery that has more by catch than targeted species? Why do anglers on the upper Methow have to use barbless flies, when downstream gillnets are okay? All this stuff and a lot more has driven me to high blood pressure for years. Is anyone going to read the Ruckleshouse report that will do anything? Of course not.

Money speaks loudest. It's who you own. The ecologically/biologically "best" fisheries are non-mixed stock, target adults, pay attention to the food chain, etc. We KNOW what needs doing; but there is simply no political will to do it.

12/28/2024


Fish Program Director

Kelly Cunningham, Fish Program Director

"spent nearly 20 years as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay, AK.''

Don't think we, sports fishers, are going to get a fair shake when it comes to less time for NT gill netters.....IMO

Does seem to be the case in GH, Drifter. I think salmon are still viewed as primarily commercial, when push comes to shove.

“ I think salmon are still viewed as primarily commercial”

D’oh !

Can’t think of one year in my entire life when Salmon were not viewed by the masses as primarily a Commercial entity. It’s been the “whats for dinner” treat since the Jurassic . And likely will continue when managed by the tribal managers from here on out...