Was asked if in my PDR documents I have not released some. Yup! There were a couple that were hysterically funny to be sure but if the documents were personal interactions between staff, internal personnel administration, or a oops moment I have not put them forward. I have no problem with confronting R-6 District 17 staff on their actions and policies but I stop right there. Our efforts at FTC are about the fish and local communities not the occasional personal differences that any group of people working together will have.

To business. Now this one is good. If you read the paper below it sounds OK but what is wrong? Tangle net moralities in Grays Harbor are WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more than what is represented. How do I know? The local communities volunteers attempted use tangle nets to capture Chinook and ABANDONED that method due to high moralities. If Chinook and Chum survived the initial encounter the majority would not survive to spawn. Females in particular took a hard hit in survival numbers and this is utilizing specially designed platform boats, revival transport tubes, floating recovery netpens. Not dragging them over the bow ripping them from the net and hurl the captured fish over the side of the boat.

What is written by R-6 District 17 staff below is not even close to reality. My favorite is moderate differences between Columbia Spring Chinook river conditions and those that exist in Grays Harbor in the fall fishery. Lord what planet does whoever wrote this live on? The most appalling thing? This unadulterated piece of utter BS and fabrication was for the Commission.

Commission Speaking Points
Grays Harbor Management
April 12, 2013

Tangle Nets and Mortality
o Commercial advisors have proposed the use of tangle net gear for fall commercial salmon fisheries in Grays Harbor this year.
o The applicability of tangle nets and associated release mortality rate is based on recommendations of the U.S. v Oregon Technical Advisory Committee for use in Columbia River commercial net fisheries requiring the release of unmarked Chinook. Their recommendation of 14.7% was adopted through the Columbia River Compact process.
o There is a significant reduction in the mortality rate resulting in a shift from 6” maximum gill net with 45% release mortality, as used in previous years, to this year’s proposal to use 4-1/4” tangle net and the documented 14.7% mortality resulting from this gear type.
o Moderate differences in environmental conditions exist between Columbia River spring Chinook and Grays Harbor fall Chinook fisheries. We have considered these differences and find them similar enough for the application of tangle nets and the associated mortality rate.
o However, the uncertainty surrounding the environmental conditions and the first time use of tangle nets in Grays Harbor cause us to take a more conservative approach in Grays Harbor by applying a buffer to the release mortality rate and increase it to 25.0%.

Accuracy of Predicted Fishery Mortality
o Given low abundance of natural origin fall Chinook returning to the Chehalis River in recent years, limited harvest opportunity has been available in both marine area and freshwater sport fisheries. At the same time WDFW managed commercial fisheries have been developed for more abundant coho returns while requiring Chinook release in commercial catch areas 2A and 2D.
o It is worth mentioning that the fishery planning model used to estimate fishing related impacts has as well as the run reconstruction the model is bases on have been redeveloped for use in 2013. The new models incorporate stock specific allocation of harvest based on coded wire tag sampling that is specific to the commercial catch management area where the fish were caught. Therefore the productiveness for modeling the outcome of historic fisheries has been evaluated to test the accuracy of the new model. Doing so removed potential biases associated with historic models that did not appropriately allocate catch by stock origin. Evaluating performance using post-season runsizes removes biases of forecasting error.




Now take a quick read of this e mail thread and wella you have the scientific rational for the mortality they put in the Commission paper. As always read the e mail thread bottom up.

From: Hughes, Kirt M (DFW)
To: la
cc: ac Warren, Ron R (DFW); Scharpf, Mike M (DFW); Mcclellan, Barbara A (DFW);
Subject: FW: 2013 gh season
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:44:00 AM

B –
I got a bounce back on the address in the message from A---. I have also included Mike in this thread.
-Kirt

From: Hughes, Kirt M (DFW)
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:42 AM
To: 'a'; Warren, Ron R (DFW) Cc: B; Mcclellan, Barbara A (DFW) Subject: RE: 2013 gh season


A--- –
Speaking only to the application of 25% release mortality, there was an additional 10.3% added as a buffer. The is nothing scientific about the 10% it is simple a buffer intended as a precautionary approach in bridging uncertainties in the physiology on fish and the environmental conditions they are encountering at time of capture. Specifically we note the difference between spring Chinook in the Columbia River and fall Chinook stocks passing through the Grays Harbor estuary and differences in characteristic of the water including temperature and salinity.

I certainly apologize for not making contact with folks as previously developed schedules were being modified as a result of the change in mortality rate.

-Kirt

From: a-------
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:31 AM
To: Warren, Ron R (DFW)
Cc: B; Hughes, Kirt M (DFW); Mcclellan, Barbara A (DFW)
Subject: 2013 gh season



Ron,

When we left our last meeting we had an agreement on the

recreational and commercial GH seasons. If things were to change we were to be called and asked about what changes may occur.
In your new proposal we trade thirteen days with regular nets for two with tangle nets. If the Humptulips is tier 4 tier 4 and we have no days in that area we have not met any criteria from the tier system in that area. Who was notified about these changes when they took place at PFMC? The state numbers are 14.7% mortality rate on Chinook in tangle nets. We will be assessed 25%. Where did this rate come from?


Failing to see why we had any advisory group meetings, A---





Edited by Rivrguy (10/14/13 12:27 PM)
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Dazed and confused.............the fog is closing in