On mobile so this may/may not post well. From an email I just received, looks like comments needed asap
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Information on the Orca Task Force meeting Tuesday August 28.
We need your comments. Our voice is not being heard and the non fishing folks are stating that fishing needs to be stopped to save the orcas. Stopping fishing will not save the orcas or the salmon. If you cannot make the Orca Task Force meeting in Anacortes on Tuesday, please comment using the links below. We also need you to comment to the WDFW Commission at the link below on hatchery production increases needed. This is one of those meetings that if you are not at the table you are on the table!
Meeting is from 10:00 am to 5:30 PM You may stay and see the entire meeting.
Public Testimony is at 4:30-If you wish to speak you need to sign in at the front desk. You will probably be limited to 2 minutes. They need to hear from you.
Issues we are not in agreement with:
1. No clear evidence that our presence (vessel noise) on fishing grounds are driving the orcas away-if you have ever had them chasing salmon around your boat while fishing, please mention that. One study says that the SRKWs use about 50-80kHz frequency. We can and will change our frequency to the 200 setting when Orcas are present. We have been present for most of the Orcas life on their feeding grounds. They don't know an existence without fishing boats.
2. Media is blaming fishing for the SR Orca demise and stopping fishing is their answer. When interviewed they omit our view.
3. There are studies including some by NOAA that show that stopping sport fishing is not going to recover the salmon/Orcas.
4. WDFW and leads are trying to say that through scat samples, harbor seals do not eat that many salmon percentage wise and downplaying dealing with Pinnipeds (seals and Sea Lions). They are not being addressed as a problem due to scat samples showing that salmon is a very small percentage of their diet. It's the massive numbers of harbor seals eating salmon that is the problem. Harbor seals in the Puget Sound are wiping out our salmon runs. Both when they are smolt coming through the river systems and out into the salt and when they return as adults. Think of locusts. In small numbers they are not very harmful but is swarms they have devastated huge amounts of crops and caused hardships on early settlers. This of it this way.
5. A tagged steelhead study was done in the Puget Sound with 5 rivers. 8-9 of every 10 smolt had their tags show up in scat. That Is 80-90% killed by seals alone!
6. Predation by birds and seals consume over 10 million smolt before they get to the saltwater, info backed by NOAA.
7. WDFW does not want to have to deal with the pinniped issue and is trying to keep it off of the table. It needs to go back on the table and the Chasco paper has to be used as it is a scientific study by scientists. Chasco Paper has to go back on the table.
8. We need to demand salmon hatchery production increases to save both the salmon and our SR Orcas. Save the salmon save the Orcas.
9. We have cut back our Coho and Chinook salmon hatchery production 160 million fish since 1992 in Washington State. Add the 30 Million cut in Oregon to it and that brings it up 190 million.
10. British Columbia and Alaska take approximately 60% of our salmon.
11. Pinnipeds, Northern fisheries (BC and Alaska), and hatchery cuts (ESA, HSRG, and funding cuts) have endangered our salmon runs to the point that we, tribes, commercials, and recreational, are hardly fishing any more. It took the starving ding Orcas for people to finally realize what we have been preaching is correct.
12. The WDFW Commission suspended 3 points of the Hatchery Science Review Group Policy to be able to take additional eggs for increased hatchery production. Voted 9-0, Next meeting they realized the harm that pinnipeds are doing and passed a policy to give flexibility to WDFW in Pinniped management.
Please bring this up. You may comment online to the task force here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/srkwtfpubliccomment
Please also send comments to Gov. Jay Inslee
https://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/contact-gov-inslee
Also the WDFW commission needs to hear from you on their motion to increase hatchery production up 50,million Chinook Smolts. We have done the opposite for 10 years now. It's time to try it the other way. The Orcas have to be fed. Please comment to the commission at [email protected] and tell them you want to see the 50 million increase in the 3 safe areas that do not harm wild fish.
Letter Received from one of our respected colleagues that we have been working with Brett Rosson:
I'm concerned that those of us with an understanding of the fishery in Marine Area 7, and fisheries management in general, are being shut out. From what I have observed, we are up against for-gone-conclusions, and that the Prey Availability moderator/facilitator is unilaterally choosing which viewpoints to advance and which to disregard or cast aside. She does this regardless of the available science and well-reasoned group member objections. In a nutshell, I think we are being intentionally sidelined and it worries me.
Not being part of the task force or any working group allowed me to roam from room to room and listen to the discussions being held. The groups were attempting to distill the proposed action items and find agreement. I was taken aback by what I observed: Individually many of the group members have knowledge in their field, but the problem is many feel qualified to suggest actionable ideas of which they have no background or understanding. They weigh in on matters for which they have zero technical and scientific knowledge, and they often have no way of backing up some of the ideas or recommendations they put forth. It's nothing short of astounding.
To name just a few:
Penny Becker led discussions on Prey Availablity but was far from a neutral facilitator. With each group, she introduced the idea of shutting down geographical areas to fishing that historically support SRKW foraging. She then would give a "for instance" and suggest the west side of San Juan Island. She would further add that this action would work in concert with vessel restrictions in the same area, but that the vessel working group was assigned this specific task. She makes no attempt to hide her agenda and is quite intentional in her 'steering' of the separate working groups toward her own goal of seeing the west side closed to recreational harvest and fishing boats. A point to note is that when one
of the group members brought up the fact that this would require all user groups to comply, she suggested that if the recreational boats where kept from the area, and not the tribal, that somehow
this would entice the tribes to do the same for fear of "looking bad." This shows she is either painfully naive or blinded by her own agenda.
Kevin Ranker's comments in the vessel working group room really concerned me. He openly stated that we should disregard Phil Anderson's assurances that 1. A higher number of migrating fish could be expected due new to Pacific Salmon Treaty agreements with the Canadians. And, 2.That a re-worked 10-year management plan would further restrict harvest throughout the Puget Sound marine areas. Further, Kevin went on to state that the task force should immediately move forward with harvest cuts, concentrating on area 7, because "we have been listening to Phil tell us for years that cuts to recreational harvest are coming, and yet nothing has yet happened'. Given that I have been involved in the North of Falcon process for the last 10 years and have been witness to nothing but annual reductions in harvest opportunity, I call BS on Kevin's point. What astounds me is that Kevin and many others refuse to acknowledge this point. We have 104 fewer days of Chinook fishing when compared to 5 years ago and yet this does not seem to register with folks on the task force. I heard on group member put it this way though, and I couldn't agree more. He stated 'why would we continue to go down the path of harvest reductions as a way to help save the SRKW when based on the last 10 years of reductions, it hasn't helped?" To expect different results from further cuts is lunacy and a waste of time, not to mention it will only serve to hurt recreational opportunity, industry, and businesses throughout Puget Sound.
I know that the design of the task force discussions is based on the marketplace of ideas. The intention is that good, reasonable, and workable solutions will rise to the top and be implemented, while others will sink to the bottom. What worries me first, is that some of these crazy suggestions, ideas. and notions will take hold, and second, that individual or group agendas will find their way to the governor's desk and be written into law.
Click here to unsubscribe from this mailing list.
—————
Information on the Orca Task Force meeting Tuesday August 28.
We need your comments. Our voice is not being heard and the non fishing folks are stating that fishing needs to be stopped to save the orcas. Stopping fishing will not save the orcas or the salmon. If you cannot make the Orca Task Force meeting in Anacortes on Tuesday, please comment using the links below. We also need you to comment to the WDFW Commission at the link below on hatchery production increases needed. This is one of those meetings that if you are not at the table you are on the table!
Meeting is from 10:00 am to 5:30 PM You may stay and see the entire meeting.
Public Testimony is at 4:30-If you wish to speak you need to sign in at the front desk. You will probably be limited to 2 minutes. They need to hear from you.
Issues we are not in agreement with:
1. No clear evidence that our presence (vessel noise) on fishing grounds are driving the orcas away-if you have ever had them chasing salmon around your boat while fishing, please mention that. One study says that the SRKWs use about 50-80kHz frequency. We can and will change our frequency to the 200 setting when Orcas are present. We have been present for most of the Orcas life on their feeding grounds. They don't know an existence without fishing boats.
2. Media is blaming fishing for the SR Orca demise and stopping fishing is their answer. When interviewed they omit our view.
3. There are studies including some by NOAA that show that stopping sport fishing is not going to recover the salmon/Orcas.
4. WDFW and leads are trying to say that through scat samples, harbor seals do not eat that many salmon percentage wise and downplaying dealing with Pinnipeds (seals and Sea Lions). They are not being addressed as a problem due to scat samples showing that salmon is a very small percentage of their diet. It's the massive numbers of harbor seals eating salmon that is the problem. Harbor seals in the Puget Sound are wiping out our salmon runs. Both when they are smolt coming through the river systems and out into the salt and when they return as adults. Think of locusts. In small numbers they are not very harmful but is swarms they have devastated huge amounts of crops and caused hardships on early settlers. This of it this way.
5. A tagged steelhead study was done in the Puget Sound with 5 rivers. 8-9 of every 10 smolt had their tags show up in scat. That Is 80-90% killed by seals alone!
6. Predation by birds and seals consume over 10 million smolt before they get to the saltwater, info backed by NOAA.
7. WDFW does not want to have to deal with the pinniped issue and is trying to keep it off of the table. It needs to go back on the table and the Chasco paper has to be used as it is a scientific study by scientists. Chasco Paper has to go back on the table.
8. We need to demand salmon hatchery production increases to save both the salmon and our SR Orcas. Save the salmon save the Orcas.
9. We have cut back our Coho and Chinook salmon hatchery production 160 million fish since 1992 in Washington State. Add the 30 Million cut in Oregon to it and that brings it up 190 million.
10. British Columbia and Alaska take approximately 60% of our salmon.
11. Pinnipeds, Northern fisheries (BC and Alaska), and hatchery cuts (ESA, HSRG, and funding cuts) have endangered our salmon runs to the point that we, tribes, commercials, and recreational, are hardly fishing any more. It took the starving ding Orcas for people to finally realize what we have been preaching is correct.
12. The WDFW Commission suspended 3 points of the Hatchery Science Review Group Policy to be able to take additional eggs for increased hatchery production. Voted 9-0, Next meeting they realized the harm that pinnipeds are doing and passed a policy to give flexibility to WDFW in Pinniped management.
Please bring this up. You may comment online to the task force here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/srkwtfpubliccomment
Please also send comments to Gov. Jay Inslee
https://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/contact-gov-inslee
Also the WDFW commission needs to hear from you on their motion to increase hatchery production up 50,million Chinook Smolts. We have done the opposite for 10 years now. It's time to try it the other way. The Orcas have to be fed. Please comment to the commission at [email protected] and tell them you want to see the 50 million increase in the 3 safe areas that do not harm wild fish.
Letter Received from one of our respected colleagues that we have been working with Brett Rosson:
I'm concerned that those of us with an understanding of the fishery in Marine Area 7, and fisheries management in general, are being shut out. From what I have observed, we are up against for-gone-conclusions, and that the Prey Availability moderator/facilitator is unilaterally choosing which viewpoints to advance and which to disregard or cast aside. She does this regardless of the available science and well-reasoned group member objections. In a nutshell, I think we are being intentionally sidelined and it worries me.
Not being part of the task force or any working group allowed me to roam from room to room and listen to the discussions being held. The groups were attempting to distill the proposed action items and find agreement. I was taken aback by what I observed: Individually many of the group members have knowledge in their field, but the problem is many feel qualified to suggest actionable ideas of which they have no background or understanding. They weigh in on matters for which they have zero technical and scientific knowledge, and they often have no way of backing up some of the ideas or recommendations they put forth. It's nothing short of astounding.
To name just a few:
- Outlaw downriggers to limit the ability of fisherman to catch king salmon.
- A 5-year moratorium on all fishing, up to Alaska, in order to allow chinook to get to the SRKW.
- Require fishing boats to use electric motors because they will be quieter and produce no exhaust.
- Curtail recreational fishing not just in Marine Area 7, but in 5-11, because the salmon that the whales eat are everywhere.
- Require all recreational fisherman to acquire limited entry permits allowing them to fish on certain days only.
Penny Becker led discussions on Prey Availablity but was far from a neutral facilitator. With each group, she introduced the idea of shutting down geographical areas to fishing that historically support SRKW foraging. She then would give a "for instance" and suggest the west side of San Juan Island. She would further add that this action would work in concert with vessel restrictions in the same area, but that the vessel working group was assigned this specific task. She makes no attempt to hide her agenda and is quite intentional in her 'steering' of the separate working groups toward her own goal of seeing the west side closed to recreational harvest and fishing boats. A point to note is that when one
of the group members brought up the fact that this would require all user groups to comply, she suggested that if the recreational boats where kept from the area, and not the tribal, that somehow
this would entice the tribes to do the same for fear of "looking bad." This shows she is either painfully naive or blinded by her own agenda.
Kevin Ranker's comments in the vessel working group room really concerned me. He openly stated that we should disregard Phil Anderson's assurances that 1. A higher number of migrating fish could be expected due new to Pacific Salmon Treaty agreements with the Canadians. And, 2.That a re-worked 10-year management plan would further restrict harvest throughout the Puget Sound marine areas. Further, Kevin went on to state that the task force should immediately move forward with harvest cuts, concentrating on area 7, because "we have been listening to Phil tell us for years that cuts to recreational harvest are coming, and yet nothing has yet happened'. Given that I have been involved in the North of Falcon process for the last 10 years and have been witness to nothing but annual reductions in harvest opportunity, I call BS on Kevin's point. What astounds me is that Kevin and many others refuse to acknowledge this point. We have 104 fewer days of Chinook fishing when compared to 5 years ago and yet this does not seem to register with folks on the task force. I heard on group member put it this way though, and I couldn't agree more. He stated 'why would we continue to go down the path of harvest reductions as a way to help save the SRKW when based on the last 10 years of reductions, it hasn't helped?" To expect different results from further cuts is lunacy and a waste of time, not to mention it will only serve to hurt recreational opportunity, industry, and businesses throughout Puget Sound.
I know that the design of the task force discussions is based on the marketplace of ideas. The intention is that good, reasonable, and workable solutions will rise to the top and be implemented, while others will sink to the bottom. What worries me first, is that some of these crazy suggestions, ideas. and notions will take hold, and second, that individual or group agendas will find their way to the governor's desk and be written into law.
Click here to unsubscribe from this mailing list.
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