read were gov.gary is going to spend money to look at the possible reasons causeing low o2 levels in the canel, i have no bio degree but i do know it takes along time and a good amount of o2 for something to decay in water like say 650k dead chum carcess! what will they do with the hoodsport garbage?

You're on the right track.

It's a setup when WDFW stops the fishing for bottomfish and squid, which are underfished, and allows the taking of everything else. Making these kinds of claims is becoming second nature to the bureaucrats in the last few years. Remember the sea-run and the clams.

I don't know the situation now but I wrote them 2-3 months ago after the first few storms had gone through because I wanted to catch a couple dozen squid and they still stated that the o2 was too low, of course they hadn't actually checked. That was right in the middle of the Chum run when the purse seiners and indians were netting like crazy.

Maybe shutting down the Hatcheries at Hoodsport and Quilcene and other oxygen users would help. The squid, after all, are true natives.

And from the ironic side-note category...

...the Northwest Indian Fisheries Newsletter (which I subscribe to...) ran a story in this month's issue about the low O2 levels and the resulting "fish kill". The article sited various environmental/development type causes.

Along with the story ran a picture of (you guessed it!) a pile of chum skeletons on the beach, the implecation being that these fish succumed to the low O2 levels.

Funny, huh?

Like everything, the problem is complex. Historically, there were also millions of chum spawning in the lower reaches of rivers and streams. So, the difference between chums decomposing in the salt vs. in the lower reaches of streams may not amount to much.

They don't know if there was a problem with oxygen historically-- hopefully they will understand what the range of "normal" is with the studies.

I can tell you that most of the focus seems to be with septics, and the people that deal with septics think that there is a disproportionate focus on that issue.

It will come down to whether everyone is willing to change a little. The tribes will have to agree to stop the chum dumping, people will have to agree to fix their septics and counties will have to deal with stormwater.

And, in the short term, both shrimping and crabbing seasons are probably gone. It may help to raise awareness and motivate people to make some positive changes quickly because of the huge impact to the local economy.

Aunty,

It was just my read of the closure notice--


Action: Close recreational and commercial fishing for bottomfish, smelt, herring, squid, octopus and other species in Hood Canal.

Effective date: 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2004

Species affected: All species of bottomfish, herring, smelt, anchovy, octopus, squid and sea cucumbers. Fishing for salmon, trout, clams and oysters will not be affected by the closure.

Location: Hood Canal south of the Hood Canal Bridge


I don't see in this closure report that it says crabs and shrimp are excluded.

I heard that shrimp season is ready to open on the typical 3rd Saturday in May like normal. Crabs are set to open June first also like normal last time I checked. I think that the reason WDFW did not list crabs and shrimp in the closure is that they are closed right now and those other species aren't.

And salmon, even chum salmon, don't spawn and die in saltwater, they swim up the river, spawn, and die. Their carcasses feed wildlife and resident fish, and as they decompose they drive productivity for organisms that juvenile salmon eat. Many millions of salmon were consumed by the historically abundant wildlife and fish like bull trout, cutthroat, resident rainbow, and of course tons of juvenile salmon and steelhead. Well, we've severely depleted all of those species, and then instead of letting fish go up a river we allow them to be dumped directly in Hood Canal, benefitting shrimp and crabs I suppose but little else, while contributing to low DO problems. Absolutely the way the tribe is egging and dumping is part of the problem, along with all the other nutrient inputs.