In the last couple of weeks there have been numerous occasions that I have witnessed that the tribes netting fish out on the Hood Canal have been stripping the fish for there eggs. After the eggs have taken the fish are then either thrown on on the beach or over the side. I have contacted the WDFW about a week ago and let them know that I have a video of this going on. As of today I have not got a response from them. To my knowledge I thought there was a law for all commercial fishermen tribal and non-tribal fisherman not to waste fish. Does anyone know about this law. Not only are the tribes wasting the fish there are also making remarks to the sport fishermen that here we come to net all the fish. The tension between the tribes and sportsmen are going to come to a head someday and this will not be a pretty site.

Wow, if you do have a video of these actions going on and are willing to mail me a copy I'll digitize it and put some of the better footage on the web. LMK, as this needs to be seen.

If I were you Id send a copy to each news station with a letter explaining it. And id also tell them how WDFW has never responded to your report. If nothing else WDFW's lack of response will get their attention.

This happens every fall on hoods canal. Two years ago there was at least 75 fish laying on gravel bar that the indians raped. Seems the WDF just closes it eyes to this.. when the eggs are more valuable than the fish this is what happens ..

I too have witnessed this way too often. I would encourage everyone heading to the canal too carry their video camera with them to capture more of this obscene action by the tribes. I will have mine with me on every trip this year.

Save yourself some grief and just stay away from Hoodsport. This has been going on for a few years now.Three years ago I called Bob Motram of the Tacoma News Tribune and told him what was happening over there.To his credit he went and saw for himself. He wrote a nice long article about the whole thing i.e.fish being stripped for the eggs and then left on the beach in large bundles to rot,fishermen and boats being surrounded by beach seine nets and then having to move out of the area they had been fishing so the indians could reap there harvest.All this taking place right in front of and on shore of the state fish hatchery there. The long and short of it is nothing has come of it except now they are suppose to haul the carcasses out to the middle of the canal and dump them!MAKES ME SICK!!!!

Okay I'll probably take my lumps on this one but am feelin bored... some questions? 1) Why fish a zoo fishery unless you can tolerate the performance? 2) Are you able to get your limits still? 3) You do realize that these fish are way surplus beyond our means to harvest them all? 4) You do recognize that these fish whether they die on their own or are left by commercial harvestors contribute their nutrients to the Hood Canal(HC) ecosystem thus continuing the cycle of really nice chinook, coho, chum and humpy runs we've been experiencing the last few seasons? This huge nutrient source also supports crab, shrimp, rockfish, lings, herring stocks and a myriad of other critters. Reduce it and the reduction in all goes down proportionately. 5) You are aware that this and several other HC chum runs were designed in the mid 70's for the nontribal commercial fleet ...not sporties? Essentially a taxpayer supported chum factory for the commercials; 6) There's a certain nontribal sport(?)element that has shown up in the Hoodsport area in recent years that practices the same egg stripping practices...can we all say caviar...Da! Comrade! Have you noticed? I could go on but this should suffice to get myself chewed on more than a little. 7) Why fish at Hoodsport when there actually at least better condition fish at other sites?

I am in no way attacking the ideals, ethics, and beliefs of you guys. I think they're great. Recognize in any replies I'm not a basher unless bashed. Also I don't support commercial harvest of any kind by net by anyone just like I don't like snaggers. If you've read my posts elsewhere on this BB you know that I too fish one or two zoo fisheries and sometimes enjoy/sometimes don't enjoy the show. I also believe we need to look at the whole problem rather than focus narrowly on a portion. Not lookin for an argument. Not lookin to bash. Willin to discuss facts though.

Gooose

I haven't fished hoodsport for many years, but this type of waste is not only limited to that area. I have witnessed the same activity from other tribes in the Puget Sound area on major rivers system near Tacoma and Seattle. The price they get for the chum roe, compared to the pennies they get for the whole fish make it much more worthwhile for them to strip the roe and chuck the carcasses. When I have reported these violations in the past, they have gone nowhere.

They get 4-6 bucks a pound for the eggs, and literally can't give the fish away, even to the food banks, because the food banks lack cold storage.

I talked with WDFW and the Point-no-point enforcement and this, unfortunately, is perfectly legal. It makes me sick that they harvest the fish, but only utilize the eggs. Shoot, I would feel a bit better if they figured out a way to make it into catfood or dogfood.

Goose makes some valid points about the nutrients, but I would rather see them forced to truck the fish upstream a few miles and then dump them in the river. At least then the kings and silvers would benefit from the nutrients.

B Mac seen the same thing all over. Actually posted on it earlier in a Skok thread. Dime bright silvers were down to 15 cents a pound at one time whereas the eggs were up around $6 a pound. Summer chum hens from Hood Canal were being taken for their eggs for $12 a pound until several of us complained. Tribal regs actually allowed the taking of esa listed as threatened summer chums if they accidently died in the net. These were beach seined fish which are supposedly the method is fish kind and but oddly didn't see any bucks go into the totes.
A couple of complaints ended this real quick.
These pirates though were the few rather than the many so I'm not labling one group.

Gooose

Dogfish be assured that chinook and coho are not only highly dependent upon freshwater invertebrates for food. They actually gain most of their size feeding on the saltwater stuff....but still yeah that's a good idea as all those nutrients ultimately flow downstream to the saltchuck to help produce the quarry we dearly love and pursue.

Gooose

I saw the same thing happening on the lower Duamish River under the 1st Ave Street Bridge.

You guys want to get really mad??? The state calls the tribe and tells them to come net out the surplus fish. They won't let them go up Finch creek and spawn because of the smell.

Fishhead5

Its not just happening on the big hatchery runs... its also hapening on the small rivers that are mostly native. Why close off the Straits to every thing but Hatchery fish and then open up the canal to kill them all.

Couple news stories on the fall chum harvest this year:
http://www.thesunlink.com/news/2001/october/1030fish.html
http://news.theolympian.com/stories/20011026/HomePageStories/128546.shtml

This shows the complete lack of respect for the fish and the resource many of the tribes have. They are blinded by dollars$$$$$$$$$$$$$ it has nothing to do with the culture the fishing rights are supposedly based on. Not bashing anyone, just pointing out the obvious. You can see it throughout this whole thread everything goes back to making a profit. It would be nice if someone actually thought of the the fish a something other than swimming dollars.

HOLY COW!!?!?! Someone's trying to make money????? What the freak?!?! How dare they???

I'd like to know, since when is making a living part of anyone's culture???

Seriously, though, I have a hard time with anyone (anglers even) telling someone how to make a living. I'd rather have someone out on a boat, making a living like a lot of people did back in the day, than either not working or in a job they hate.

Yes, it is about money. So is my life, without my job, I'd be up a certain creek. But, no one comes to my work and tells me that I shouldn't do it because I make (gasp) $$$$$$$$$ out of it. Also, I doubt a lot of Skoks are making big bucks fishing. How many millionaire Indians you see running around?

Anyway, I digress... the only problem here is that not only is there no market for fall chum, but now silvers. I'd have a yuppie buy a nice Hood Canal silver from Thriftway than a farmed Atlantic or "Copper River" whatever they are.

my two cents

Well, I am glad that some of that article was saying they are wasting some salmon. 1 or 2 people are the only ones doing it. BS! I have been fishing a hole with 5 guys and had an indian string his nets up across the hole we WERE fishing..
My buddy was fishing the skok 2 weeks ago and he was standing on the indians side but in the water(totally legal) then he heard a shot and then small bb's landed in the water next to him. Someone tried to shoot him with a shotgun. What the hell is that?

What the indians are doing is outright poaching. The state may not see it as that right now but some day hopefully it will. this is no different than the guys killing the elephants for tusks or killing tigers for skins or the guys killing the bears for gall bladders. Killing fish for eggs is no different. What a waste. You're ancestors would be absolutly disgusted.

OK guys, i's been a while since I last posted.... This tribal BS is the reason why. I just got sick and tired of hearing it all of the time. It is sooo demoralizing to hear about the tribal slaughter time and time again and to have absolutley no recourse whatsoever. Its the reason I dont visit the BB very often anymore. I must appologize to everyone who has been following this thread as my remarks will likely get the thread shut down, but I'm going to say them anyway. If this offends anyone....... Well too bad, you'll get over it. Here goes: F#ck those Indians. We should've never given back the land we took from them to begin with. The only comfort I can take from this whole situation is the knowledge that the Native American is a domesticated savage, he depends on the white man//nontribal comunity to provide him with everything he needs to be able to support his family.... Sure he ges to net, but that's it. He relies on our government to provide his housing,and he uses our welfare to feed himself. So go ahead Injuns, net em up, and make jokes about how you're sticking to the white man, then when you're done for the day, go back to the reservation that was given to you by the white man, into the house that was provided by the government, and open the bottle of whiskey that we got your people addicted to, and wonder to yourself how you'd ever make it without those horrible white men to take care of your people..... Who has the last laugh??