Yes We Can

Pool 32 Magazine #4

Great article urging action regarding wild steelhead.  Especially nice equating the money spent on gear with the total membership dues received by the Wild Steelhead Coalition. 

As I have posted in the past, notably absent in much of the conservation world are the guides who make a living (or at least try) on the backs of the wild steelhead runs.  There are some exceptions but on the whole the guide industry is absent when it comes to wild fish issues especially in Washington State.

Take Action for Wild Fish

Two important things to do for wild fish.

First up is the 2012-2013 Sportfishing Rule Proposals from WDFW.  There are important rule changes regarding wild fish protection throughout Puget Sound and the Coast.  Write or attend the meeting (or both) regarding protecting juvenile salmonids and resident trout.

2012-2013 Rule Proposals

Second up is the Wild Fish Conservancy's campaign against non-native hatchery fish in the Elwha River.  Help them help wild fish recovery after the dam removal.

Protect Wild Elwha Steelhead and Salmon

Always Wrong

I attended the Snider Creek meeting in Forks earlier this week.  Testifying in favor of the guide welfare program was the city attorney of Forks.  I was reminded of a couple other fishery issues and the position Forks took (or pushed) and realized that they are always on the wrong side of the issue.

The wild steelhead retention moratorium was stopped because the City of Forks fought hard against it.  They were wrong as wild steelhead numbers continue their downward slide.

Then I remembered going to meetings regarding halibut when I ran a charter boat.  The City of Forks was actively pushing to open closed areas and start the season later in May.  All of the charter boats stated that these ideas would only work to shorten the season which wouldn't benefit anyone.  What happened since those rules were put in place.  First, the halibut fishery is often open for less than a week's worth of days compared to three weeks to a month when these meetings took place.   None of the charter boat captains who attended those meetings are running boats out of Neah Bay or La Push anymore.  Forks in this case was wrong again when it came to managing fisheries.

Now Forks is pushing to keep the Snider Creek broodstock hatchery program open without additional restrictions.  Seems to me we should look back at their history of being 100% wrong on fisheries management and totally disregard their opinion on this hatchery.

The City of Forks is incapable of making a good decision when it comes to our fisheries.

Also, how much of the Sol Duc runs through incorporated Forks?  None... which should be the amount of sway they have on this decision considering their past when it comes to fisheries.

Sustainable Steelhead?

An interesting post on the Patagonia site about the Seafood Summit in Vancouver got me thinking about ways to work with tribal fishers and work around the current lack of action coming from WDFW.

Here's a quote from the above link:
"But, citing Patagonia’s experience with the cotton industry, Chouinard also talked about market-based solutions that work with harmful industries to force improvement from within. Still more grumbling, but it set a tone that made for lively discussion throughout the week. There seems to be strong agreement among many of the conservation NGOs I spoke with that the kind of market-based solutions Chouinard is promoting are by far the most effective way to create positive change. Certainly something to be hopeful about."

Could a market based solution be helpful in increasing steelhead runs?  I do not have the exact answer but it might be time to take a chance and change the dynamic.  Could non-profit groups work with the tribes to allow the non-tribal 50% to be used however we wish, including increasing spawning abundance?  Could we work to make sure fishing plans are in place before seasons begin?  Could we work to reduce interception on early timed fish and restore lost diversity?

It might be possible by using a carrot instead of a hammer.  Could tribes on rivers managed for steelhead abundance be allowed to sell their steelhead as "sustainable"?  With the decline of stocks all along the west coast and no steelhead stock currently defined as sustainable by any organization, could this allow tribes who work with non-governmental conservation organizations to sell their product without the protests and also sell it for a higher price.

Of course, selling this to the angling public will probably be just as hard as selling it to the tribes.  Wild steelhead are a holy grail of NW angling and many would like to see zero harvest on all sides of wild steelhead.  In my dreams I would like to see this too.  Of course, the reality is that the tribes will continue to net and sell steelhead commercially.  We will continue to send letters and e-mails to restaurants and fish buyers who buy wild steelhead.  This will continue and continue with wild runs continuing to decline.  It might be time to work with the tribes to create a situation that is perfect for neither side but might hold more hope for more steelhead than trusting WDFW to do anything to actually increase wild runs.

Something to think about at least.