RivrGuy....His 2nd post for Willapa Bay

I still wonder about the non reported catch that is sold directly off the gillnet boats right in Aberdeen at the Walmart parking lot and at the mouth of the Wishkah, and near Weyerhauser in Cosmopolis.

gregsalmon:

Been there, done that........QIN fishermen, can take home X amount of fish, the individual fishermen can now "sell out of the net" but, as I understand it, the sales numbers are reported to the tribe.

Click on the address below, page 2 talks about "sales"


http://209.206.175.157/Fishing%20Regs/chehalis%20commercial.pdf


I think the tribe, in general, is dealing with what might have been a problem?????????

So, what is our strongest argument at these meetings to convince the co-managers to avoid another "curtain of death" netting in October. Last year was over-the-top ridiculous and as bad as I've seen in all the years I've lived here.

Chinook aside, with the numbers presented, there's going to be substantial netting again. I've seen nor heard anything from the dept. that convinces me they will shift to a more rec-friendly management scheme and, frankly, don't expect they will short of a court order. So let's just assume there's going to be a lot of netting.

What I see as critical to better upstream opportunity is to break up the net schedule....say max of 4 days a week during peak run timing, both tribal and non-tribal. You've GOT to have more than 1 day a week net-free to let something swim upstream. So how do we get that? Is the lower Chehalis chinook forecast(tier 2) going to achieve that with all those coho and chum swimming around out there?

I realize reduced netting per week on high harvestable numbers will disperse the net schedule out over a longer time but what's worse? That or another October wall of death like last year?

it will be just like last year..nets nets nets.. we will be lucky to get a single day without them in this year in Oct..

Perhaps on the back end of Oct.... but I wouldn't count on too many NT days in 2A/2D on the front end of Oct.

As far as the QIN nets, all bets are off.

I wish we could get the QIN to participate in the NOF process. Even if their schedule is whatever they want to make it, knowing it in advance would give us an idea of their planned impact throughout the season, and it would allow us an opportunity to negotiate over which days the NT gillnetters will fish so that we don't lose entire weeks to nets.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one....

I hope some day they join us.....

JEEBUS... the 2012 Chehalis king escapement is HORRIBLE!

Wild escapement of only 7500 fish.

Goal is 12.4 K

We've exceeded that benchmark only three times (2003, 2004, 2011) in the past 15 years! Hit it just right once (2005). Failed miserably all the rest.

The management goal is to keep the fish off of ESA. They have succeeded.

When you look at 2012 it is easy enough to see the in river fishery got screwed big time as did the the fish. The co-managers targeted the Coho harvest on the front 40% of the run which just plain wrong. Disregarded the Chum populations above Fuller Hill and continued to destroy the upper Chehalis Chum stocks by targeting the higher producing hatchery supported lower river stocks. Agreed to allow the QIN to harvest 18% into Chinook escapement, then the fish did not show so massive over harvest.

2012 in the Chehalis Basin violated about every rule in the book for conservation driven harvest allocation. It was about sacrificing Chinook & Chum stocks & the in river sport to drive commercial fisheries on abundant Coho. Somebody want to tell me again how great of a job Mr. Anderson is doing?

what do you expect from a commercial guy???

Looking forward,

To anyone reading this, Have you been interested in how these Wonderfully Wacky Washington fisheries work?
Have you wanted to learn more?
Have you wondered if your participation matter?
Have you wanted to attend a democratic process in action? Or maybe to participate in one?

If you can answer "Yes" to any of the above then here is a great opportunity. Here is a great place to jump in without drowning.

Be present at one of both of these meetings.

March 14, Thurs:
WDFW Public Meeting Gray's Harbor Fisheries
Montesano City Hall
6 pm - 8 pm
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/northfalcon/

March 29, Fri:
WDFW Willapa Bay and Gray's Harbor Fisheries Final Planning
Olympia
Olympia Room 172
9 am to 4 pm
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/northfalcon/ scroll down in the link

For background, go to the OP's site, fishingthechehalis.net site and drive around. View the vids, they are great.

EyeDoc, Rivrguy, and Flicker of Fleas, and others are working hard in this fishery, and they have proven that they love to share that with the rest of us. So, let's show up and support them.

Being present is a great place to be.

Thank You,

Rick

I believe we've obtained the proverbial smoking gun regarding this problem.... ho'boy, and how!

Gonna make sure this gets counted right in the 2013 harvest model

theres been a couple GH advisory committe meetings latly and i was wondering what went on??? whats all the talk???

All very preliminary at this time but this should give you some reasonable expectations.

Chehalis:
Should look a lot like last year but even more generous for wild coho... OODLE's of them to be caught... expectations are 4W:1H
Tier plan ensures a rec fishery for kings, but smaller than last year
Some of you will even get to keep some chums.

Hump:
Should look identical to last year except that chum will be bonkable.

Lots of details to work out yet.

The first Advisory meeting was " hi how are you " and the second was throw ideas as to seasons in the hat plus some issues. Will add moving the Chehalis opening two weeks forward was put in the mix. The commercial seasons the NT nets put forward was more or less like last year on steroids.

Folks in all honesty I ( or Francis ) could put a lot more feathers on this bird but it would mean little. I will add this, on the issue of the inriver sport getting paper fish and then corked off by the nets was brought forward. Additionally the fact that many traditional fisheries ( such as the late summer Chehalis jacks and tributary Chum ) had been sacrificed in past years and that had to stop was also brought forward. Oh and one more thing, the issue of the mainstem Chehalis commercial fishery on Chum chronically over harvesting mid and upper Chehalis tributaries Chum was discussed.

As a proponent of the public's right to know even I am hesitant to say much more as this was simply the advisers pushing forward broad proposals but will add that two gentlemen from East County attended and observed the meeting with out the sky falling. So it is NOF at Montesano March 14th up next and folks need to attend and push for the sports fisheries. ALL sport fisheries not just your pet. So you do not fish the bay or do not fish tide water or do not fish Chum, well the list is as diverse as the sport fisheries are but what we all must argue for is a complete restoration of all the traditional sport fisheries on harvest of all three spices of salmon. After that as public input is brought into the process with options then wide open discussion time.

Wow! The QIN nets 6 days a week, and on the 7th the fish can rest?

Nice write up of FISHINGTHECHEHALIS.NET in the current The Reel News.

Regarding Gray's Harbor, escapement goals seems to be the hinge issue across all the species' fisheries. Honesty and transparency in escapement goals. Doc and Dave, do you agree?

FWIW, I finally watched the rest of the tutorial videos, and "Where did all the Salmon Go" is my favorite of the whole series. The "Boldt Decision" is a close second.

I will be driving from Seattle to the Montesano City Hall meeting and can stop and pick up and deliver folks along the way. PM me.

Rick

DR I would say the failure to make escapement goals is a primary issue but it is stock specific not so much as the Basin as a whole. Now that said what we have is a harvest driven problem plain and simple. In the effort to kill every paper fish possible, WDF&W ( and the QIN ) are willing to sacrifice the weaker stocks. It is that simple. It is not that the vast majority of the streams can not make escapement but rather they can not sustain the commercial harvest levels applied.

As to transparency, what transparency? I would like to point out last years NOF with no this / no that then WDF&W agrees to allow the QIN to take 18% of the Chinook escapement and never made it public. In fact if it had not been for Softbite's effort it may not have ever been made public. Transparency is a WDF&W policy? Nope but if you believe that transparency is WDF&W's policy in the Chehalis Basin I have a bridge I want to sell you.