Fishing Ban Considered

[ELKCHSR]

Fishing Ban Considered as Salmon Dwindle
by Tamara Keith

U.S. officials are on the brink of forbidding salmon fishing along the West Coast because of a major collapse in the salmon population. Marine experts say they are witnessing the worst crisis in the salmon population in at least 40 years.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Yep, it's pretty lean out here as far as salmon are concerned. The last two years have been progressively worse. Besides proposing that all dams be removed to enhance spawning, everyone wants the sea lion and seals to be left alone and not thinned out. We can't have it both ways, but something's gotta give.

 

[ELKCHSR]

I'm guessing your marine mammels are one of the bigger subjects people just want to stuff their head in the sand on and pretend just doesn't exist...

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Yep. The seals and sea lions clog up harbors and marinas on the west coast and lay around like lazy, fat, noisy, smelly hippies at Woodstock. During the mating season when the bulls get aggressive, somebody winds up getting mauled or killed by either a teritorial male or a crazed cow defending her young. Everyone still thinks they're cute and insist they be protected.
Back in the day, quite a few of them got shot by bored boat skippers and that kept the population somewhat in check. Nowadays nobody wants to take the rap for wacking a "protected species."
Pretty interesting that the salmon population has suffered recently as a result of seal and sea lion overpopulation. A balanced ecosystem isn't on the preservationist's agenda. The quickest way to abolish the Fish and Game Department and ban hunting AND fishing is to unbalance the prey/predator ratios. So far, by protecting species that have no business being protected, they've (the voters and antihunting organizations) done a really great job of really screwing eveything up.
Sooner or later some wizkid scientist is going to blame declineing salmon numbers on 'global warming.' Why not? I can almost hear them falling all over themselves to ALSO blame George Bush AND wolves for it too.

 

[ELKCHSR]

LOL!!!

Great summery Dave and well said, be careful, there are a number of people here that will have you supply proof when all they have to do is go see the devastation for themselves

They don't have to believe you, but I wonder if they will believe their lying eyes...

 

[Bambistew]

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-mew-sealions18mar19,1,7102414.story?track=rss

Agency OKs the killing of sea lions to protect salmon
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From the Associated Press
11:02 AM PDT, March 18, 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A federal agency has authorized the killing of some California sea lions that prey on migrating salmon and steelhead at the base of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

The lethal removal is limited to sea lions deemed to have a significant effect on the decline or recovery of federally protected salmon and steelhead stocks, and the offenders must have been seen eating salmonids between Jan. 1 and May 31 of any year, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in an order obtained by The Associated Press late Monday.

Sea lions are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammals Protection Act, and the allowable kill would be limited to about 85 animals.

The ruling, scheduled to be released Tuesday, identifies about 60 sea lions "authorized for immediate removal." Sea lions captured in traps must be held for at least 48 hours before they are euthanized. In that time, it will be determined if a permanent holding facility can be found, such as a zoo, aquarium or research facility.

An amendment to the 1972 act permits the killing of sea lions if Columbia River states ask for and get federal permission. Oregon and Washington asked for permission in 2006, and Idaho offered its support.

Permission was granted only once before -- in the 1990s -- for sea lions in the Ballard Locks in Puget Sound in Washington, where five animals were identified as offenders who drastically diminished a steelhead run that has yet to recover.

Three were taken in by an aquatic park before they were killed. The fate of the other two has not been made public.

The list of sea lions specifically authorized for immediate removal includes the one branded C404, who became something of a celebrity because of his ability to work his way into the fish ladders of the dam, and even into the window where upriver-bound salmon are counted to determine the size of later runs. Many sea lions have been coming to the dams for years during the spring chinook run. Some are identifiable by brands -- the "C" designation means the Columbia River -- and others by scars or markings.

The letter announcing the decision was sent to Roy Elicker, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The ruling followed three meetings of a task force comprised of commercial and sport fishermen, treaty tribes and animal rights interests.

By some estimates, the sea lions at the base of the dam take up to 4 percent of the spring chinook run headed upriver to spawn.

Opponents of the kill have said sea lions are a highly visible and politically convenient target when the real problem lies elsewhere, such as the hydroelectric dams. The Humane Society of the United States and other groups also cite other hurdles facing fish, such as the deterioration of spawning grounds, bird predation of salmon smolts headed to the ocean and agricultural runoff and other pollution.

Nonlethal attempts to keep the sea lions away from the dam, such as rubber buckshot, loud noises and pyrotechnics, generally were deemed failures. Some sea lions trapped and taken to the mouth of the Columbia River 140 miles downriver returned to the dam in two or three days.

The authorization is valid until June 30, 2012, and can be extended for five years; it can be also revoked by the National Marine Fisheries Service with 72 hours notice.

It says the states must appoint a standing committee of biologists and veterinarians to determine how to capture, hold and, if necessary, euthanize sea lions. Moreover, the states must do what they can to retrieve the carcasses.

The order says the sea lions can be killed by a qualified marksman, who may shoot the animals at short range with shotguns loaded with 00 buckshot or at greater distances using a hunting rifle with ammunition of a minimum caliber of .240.

Sea lion populations have soared since they and other marine mammals were covered under the 1972 act. Though no longer endangered, they remain protected except under the amendment that allows removal at the request of states.

Steller sea lions, which are larger and tend to feed on sturgeon instead of salmon, are endangered and are not subject to lethal removal under the decision.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is to reconvene the task force after three years to evaluate the effectiveness of the lethal takings.

 

[Delw]

They got the news media in AZ going on this one now too.

on one of the channles I heard this. " why kill those pour things, one salmon would last them 2 days, I just can't see how they can be a problem to salmon"

and of course the lady news caster chimed in with her 2 cents.

 

[ELKCHSR]

I don't think 30 will be allowed to be killed

It will probably be another token 3 or so

It is unbelievable the amount of support these animals will garner from people beating drums and swinging picket signs

I sincerely hope the game department can follow thru with the number above

I will just have to see it to believe it

Growing up in the area has taught me to be a pessimist when it comes to things like this

I wouldn't be surprised to see people trying to figure some way to chain themselves to the doomed animals...

 

[Dangerous Dave]

I've caught a few salmon myself -at least 2 a year, and I sure love to eat them. Not saying seals and sea lions are the only things that are diminishing salmon numbers; just a contributing factor. Commercial fishing needs to be looked at. I've also heard that the baitballs the salmon usually follow have become widely dispersed, which knocks the spawn off kilter. On top of that, no one knows at all how many salmon there actually are. But the low count of spawning pairs going up-river isn't a good sign. Man, sure hope someone figures this all out. Until someone does, I won't buy salmon at the store and I won't go fishing for them again until the numbers are back up.

 

[Dangerous Dave]

Update: Ban has been enforced. No fishing for kings this year.
Talked to some knowlageable fishermen this weekend about what's really happening out here with this situation. It's all about water (and runoff) rights and the fact that Northern California is making a boatload of money selling all the water they can to Southern California to the detriment of the fish.
Besides that, when there's not enough fresh water runoff, the Delta salinity/salt content of the water the smolts/fingerlings are living in goes through the roof and it kills them. This equals less less young fish returning to the sea to mature.
With less or very little fresh water run off flowing to the ocean, the mature, spawning fish have a very hard time returning to their tributary to spawn. They can't "smell" the water.
The fish count was also down partly because of something they call El Ninio -a warming of certain ocean currents. It comes and goes out here. (Currently we are in a El Ninya stage: cooling currents.) El Nina scatters the baitballs of anchovies and krill and widely disperses the salmon.