I have not been around long enough to witness how good the fishing was in Washington in
the 70's. But I am sure the the natives were fishing long before that. Don't get me wrong I support BAN. I feel we need a reduction of nets before it is too late. Be cool.
Randy

So what's your point, Randy?

Ban all commercial net fishing and limit tribal netting. They were here first! I know they have abused this privilege a in past years and populations have increased.But the state could have them run more hatcherys. I dont hve the answers just thoughts. Tight lines.
Randy

First we have to stop the commercial netting, then work on the "native" harvest. Who knows who was here first (Kennewick Man?), and I don't care. It is discriminatory that one group of people in the US can do something that everyone else can't. Where is the ACLU when we need them. I wish that I had two sets of rules to live by. Off my rant now. snit

The "right to harvest an equal share" from the Boldt decision comes along with the right to use any method, within reason, to harvest that equal share. The state tried, with absolutely no success, to limit tribal harvest to traditional tribal methods. Not only did the state get a stern lecture from the court for being a poor loser, they paid the tribes' attorneys fees for trying that argument.

A possible reason for the tribes' reluctance to support BAN could be that: 1) commercial fishermen (non-tribal) pay a lot of taxes and license money that does make its way to hatcheries and habitat improvements, 2) no commercial fishermen means none of this money gets there, and 3) less money means less fish.

Tribes get half the fish, regardless of their origin. Both tribes and the state put a lot of fish into the river systems, and less fish overall means less for the tribal nets. I guess it also couldn't hurt them politically to side with commercial netters and maybe earn a favor or two that they could cash in on later, since commercial netters obviously have some serious political pull in this state of ours.

By far the best way to commercially harvest salmon is fish traps. You put the trap across the river, catch everything, then release unharmed the non-target species. There would be virtually no bycatch of depressed fish, birds, seals, skin divers, whatever. The problem is that the money derived from such a fishery would have to be divided up among a tribe's fishermen, since everyone can't have a fish trap on the same river. Big Frank over at the NWIFC doesn't think that's a good idea, so it doesn't happy. He feels that the fishermen should all go out and fish and everyone should reap the rewards of their labor. I can see the appeal behind that idea, but it results in all kinds of fish, other than the targets, being netted and killed.

Since the state can't regulate methods, and nets work best to catch fish and give individual fishermen their just rewards, that's what we'll continue to see.

By the way, does anyone know how the Muckleshoots did out in Elliot Bay?

Fish on...
Todd.

The reports I've seen indicate between 2300 and 2500 chinook were taken in the six hour tribal fishery on Elliot Bay. Approximately half the fish taken were natives. One 42 pound chinook was caught by the netters. If they had been using fish traps this hog could have been sent upriver to spawn. It doesn't sound like the fish were too scarce as tribal fishermen reported "steady" success all night long. Here's one for the conspiracy theorists. Some have suggested the state never intended to open this fishery for the sportsmen. Just announce the season and then close it to show how science is being used to manage sensitive stocks. Sources close to the tribe said they could have taken just as many fish in their test fishery as they had in the past, but the state shortened their fishing time and announced the sports closure almost immediately. It will be interesting to see how the Game Department uses their science to justify commercial fishing for severely depressed Fraser River sockeye at Point Roberts this year. I hope they have the same level of concern for fish of Canadian origin. One more note on the Elliot Bay test fishery, apparently there was more mixing of stocks in the bay than was expected. A number of tagged fish, not from the Soos Creek Hatchery, were taken in the nets. More than likely, wild stocks were similarly mixed.

Reply to Frasier River sockeye comment. From what I am hearing there will be no fishing allowed on the run this year.The local seiners are putting the nets back into the lockers. That is more politics than science. With the BC priemer, Clark, resiging for others reason, the cooperation should get better. He was very negative against American fishing in Wa and Alaska.