Been seeing quite a few pics popping up around various locations. The interlopers are hitting the deck in droves.

I caught one by hand, around Thanksgiving, in a little creek that I think was a Samish trib. Probably a grilse as it was only about 50 cm. And skinny and weak.

On the other hand this will allow the river-fishing tribes and opportunity for a few more fish to sell. Proving that gill nets are an effective conservation tool by removing all those damnable Atlantics. A win-win. Good press for nets, good press for saving our wild fish.

Having seen people rave over chum when they were told it was a "white king" I have little trust in what the public really knows is best tasting.

I was already planning to go up and fish the Straits on Friday. I'll make a run over by the pens and report back what I see.

Really? White King? Last laugh I had over the commercial market's nomdeplume for chum was as "Silver Bright" which, as I recall, came after Keta.

But I can understand not wanting to spend money on advertising Dog Salmon for sale to the consumer.

Anyway, if they like it at market price more power to both seller and buyer.

Why not just raise pacific salmon in net pens release them, then let the tribes take 50% of that.. not a bad way to improve fishing

That'd mean the tribes wouldn't be able to blur their harvest numbers or over fish on years were the predicted numbers don't pan out. I doubt they'd give that up lol.

You are making my night tonight with your spot on comments! TY for shining lights on truths here with your withering insight in your posts!

Hoping for at least an Atlantic Salmon season on the Upper Skagit this year after getting pushed aside this year SMH... One can always hope.......

Will the nof herring meetings be open to the public? And will there be a sanddab advisory board included in the restructuring? Got my fingers crossed those flatfish hatcheries get started up soon

pretty hot huh? he knows more about fishing than pretty much most people on these boards.....

Yeah...IF ONLY...

I live on the Skagit, and saw the first of the seasons humpies rolling yesterday morning. Hard to wonder if there's not a few Atlantics in there was well.

Can they cross breed?

"Can they cross breed?"

No.

I think that Atlantics are less reproductively competent than the average Chambers Creek steelhead. And that bar is almost on the ground.

Originally there was nothing wrong with chambers creek Steelhead.
Then man planted millions of them for decades. Now they are a mess and have harmed native runs.

An expert is what collects at the end of a rubber.
Good Luck.

["Lummi fishers were incensed at the Atlantic salmon intruding in home waters of native Washington Pacific salmon. “It’s a devastation,” said Ellie Kinley, whose family has fished Puget Sound for generations. “We don’t want those fish preying on our baby salmon. And we don’t want them getting up in the rivers.”]

I laughed out loud after I read this statement. An outfit which participates in the indiscriminate killing by gillnet of threatened/endangered NATIVE stocks of fish is worried about a few thousand non-native introduced fish which probably can't interbreed anyway and wouldn't know how to kill a native smolt even with a manual? Smells like the statement of someone looking for compensation for perceived damages indeed!

Cooke's excuses for the failure are pathetic BTW and I believe those net pens have no place in the puget sound. Raise the f'ers in giant land based pens. I know we have the technology.

Like I said, Atlantics problem is that they directly compete for sales. Each AS sold is one Pacific not sold.

There real problems with the pens themselves and the discharges, problems with the spread of disease and parasites. But when they get loose they really don't do much but die.

Absolutely! The shrill cries of anguish from tribal interests (and commercial fishers in general) has ALL to do with being undercut at the market place and nothing to do with conservation.

As mentioned by others if the tribes are truly concerned about the future of our wild stocks they need to quit gill netting and get on with selective harvest methods.

If I remember right, the best way to catch these last time was to load up a garbage can with dog food or other pellets. you then start beating the water and throwing in the dog food. As the fish come up, you then net them. I remember hearing it actually worked fairly good in the beginning before the schools break up and the fish move away from the location of the pens.