Here's the announcement on this year's Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon quota.
"The commercial troll fishery preseason Chinook salmon harvest allocation for 2013 is 129,862 fish, a decrease of 67,410 Chinook when compared with last year's troll allocation of 197,272 fish," the announcement says.
See if the Kodiak trawlers wil give you some. The Golden Fleece has ove 900 so far.
ReplyDeleteNo big surprise! The fishery is collapsing while Nero (Cora) plays her fiddle. What is happening to the Sitka herring will go down as one of the biggest tragedies of Fish resource management in the country, perhaps the world. And it is not like it should surprise anyone as some users, some in the Dept. and some on the BOF have been sounding the alarms for the last three years. And for Deckboss to suggest we wait until we see what the price paid was before calling this a bust is simply unbelievable. So is it just about the money Wes? How about the lack of fish? How about that just three years ago the the harvest almost broke all records, then with a GHL of nearly 30,000 tons for 2012, the fishery was closed after getting only around 13,000 tons and now this year closed after getting less than 6,000 tons. What is it going to take to take action NOW. Not after it collapse entirely.
ReplyDeleteTrolling is one fishery with a serious need for a buyback but it will never happen. No political power and no organization.
ReplyDeleteSome day a kid will ask his father: What was a wild King Salmon?
ReplyDeleteSince 50% of the troll catch is from the Columbia River and other Lower 48 stocks, and another 25% from Canadian rivers, I think there is still hope for our children because those of us who fish commercially on the Columbia are taking plenty of hits to ensure adequate escapements so our fish can support vibrant fisheries up and down the coast. I don't mind sharing, but it's a little frustrating when Alaska markets the "wild salmon from pristine Alaskan waters" that are composed of some of the same ESA-listed stocks that we can't touch down here. Unfortunately, the public and the markets don't know those details, so we struggle to find support against sport fishermen and a sport-friedly F&W Commission that would like to get rid of us. The problem is more multi-faceted than I think a lot of Alaskans realize.
ReplyDeletesad but true, about the kid. he will also be asking "what is a herring?"
ReplyDeleteyou are so right Robert sad but true.
ReplyDeleteFor many who want to know WHY all this is happen, is there anyone who could write or has written what is REALLY happening? Is it Trawl lobby? Is it simply greed and ignorance of sound management science? What is the deal as George Carlin might put it in a raw truth sort of way? And then the less raw way? I think explanations that uncover some simple truths can go a long way without obviously and blatantly supporting any political counterparts.
ReplyDeleteAnyone willing to take a stab?
Nobody knows
ReplyDeleteConsider this. King salmon- unprecedented crash. Halibut-unprecedented crash. Cohos- not much better. What is the one thing they all have in common? Food. What if the draggers REAL damage wasn't their by-catch, but that they are taking to much of the single biggest food source in the deep ocean? Taking millions of metric tons, year after year, has got to come home to roost sooner or later. Looks like it's here.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem is we have NO idea what the actual GOA bycatch of Kings, halibut and crab actually is.
ReplyDeleteThe 30% coverage generates a false picture because trawlers behave totally different when observed.
It would be interesting to quantify the lbs of bycatch that no one cares about, small pollock, small cod, eulachon, herring and squid that all get ground up and sent to the fish meal plant.
So, nobody knows?
ReplyDeleteReally, after Warren Magnusen, banned industrialized fishing in the North Pacific back in 1974?
SEE;
Joe Plesha in House Resources a couple weeks ago discussing Industrial Fishin?
Do you remember your High Seas Driftnet Fleets?
Now it's even better, a drift net requires a fish to swim into it, but of course a trawler requires a fish to be able to swim out of it?
At least these trollers, can all get jobs in a cannery this summer. Plesha's always looking for a few more Coolies, Just like Hume Packing on the Columbia River, in 1865.
It doesn't have to be "sad" and that saddness doesn't have to be "true".
ReplyDeleteIt's man that makes the situation "sad" and it's man that proves truth.
There is enough scientific evidence available as well as methods to counteract mans destructive ways.
Look at the Big Picture and it's true that you will find damage to the water world from the biggest ocean, to the sea, to the bays and inlets, to the rivers, to the smallest creek. Man can intervene and help the ecosystem survive and thats the truth!
I saw a picture of frozen Bycatch King Salmon on Alaska Dispatch blog the other day.
ReplyDeleteSad O Great King
Some Do Not Respect
Your Spirit
They Freeze You
In A Twist
Like You Are A
Piece of Garbage.
Sad O Great King.
God bless the troll fleet. Taking on the crooked downsouth depts., the greedy cannucks, the draggers, the in river and charter sport guys, NOAA, you name it. Toughest industry there is to survive in. Thats why trollers are the toughest lot. You see one in a bar, better cast your eyes down, and tip your hat, cause it's damn hard to try to pick up your teeth with broken fingers.
ReplyDeleteHere and I thought most were pot-smoking ex-hippies....
ReplyDelete