Well the Makahs are obviously reading all the bad press they are getting. Now they are saying the 20,000 figure is wrong and is much lower.....OH MY GOD!!!! I knew this admission in the beginning would cause them some grief and fully expected the back peddling we are now seeing. They are totally tuned in on the publicity they get...Shoould have thought of that before you thumbed your noses at us.

WDFW like many others are waiting to gather all the facts before responding. I suspect we will see an attempt to diffuse this by minimizing it and sweeping it under the rug. How the overharvest affects the NOF process remains to be seen.

I would suffice it to conclude that our fisheries are being irresponsibly managed with far too much deference to the tribes. The state of Washington has made some bad pacts with the devil and the sports fishers of the state should not always be the ones to get slapped with restrictions because of this lopsided management style.

This outrage needs to stay an outrage by the way. The outraged sportsman usually gets over it in a day or two and we are back to business as usual until we get hosed again and then we are outraged again for a few days. We need to stay vigilant and keep this stuff on the front page until the system is fixed.

I really hope that all of my fellow fishermen will remember this action during the season. I would like to see a complete boycott of the Makah Nation. Let them stay on the rez...... It would be nice if no one was there to pay rez entrance fees, boat ramp fees, moorage fees, buy food at their one cafe, etc.... Just don't show up. Know what I mean? But guys, remember not everyone in Neah Bay is out there catching fish. There are some really great people out there that don't fish. Lets just see if we can bring the poachers to justice.

One way to stay "outraged" as Grandpa so rightly states is to make reservations every week..and cancel them! Use your VISA they warrant each purchase.

Boycot Neah Bay

We should all dump our $ at Sekiu and PA and Sooke

JD

I have heard from a reliable source that the number is actually much, much larger than 20,000 salmon since the report on the 10th of Jan.


The Makah have a fleet of approximately 15 small trawlers and on a good day the each get 100 or so and on a bad day about 50. If you where to just average this you would think that 75 for each boat each day would be fair. This season and also last season for them have been greater than average.

15 boats per day @ 75 fish each = 1,125 fish per day “ probably on the conservative side”

They had approximately 20,000 as of Jan 10th of this year.

This is Feb 2nd and there has been 22 days since then and from the sounds of it they are still trolling.


So 22 day @ 1,125 per day = 24,750 more salmon


For a Grand Total of 44,750 Salmon at an average of 75 per boat.

If an average of 100 fish where caught per day, a very lilkley average for this year, per boat there would be a Grand Total of 53,000 Salmon caught to date.

OH CRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats going to hurts

Thanks for the report JR. Excellent letter, Grandpa. This whole thing may turn into the "watergate" of Washington fish management. Something so blatantly unjust that it will demand action!

Word is that they where fishing long before the counting started. From what I hear the numbers we are hearing about are only from thanksgiving through January 10th. They started fishing in the beginning of November. The actual number of fish could conceivably exceed another 10,000 more fish. This is one of the biggest outrages I have ever been witness to.

"Did I say 20,000? No, no.........I really meant it's a much smaller number than that? How much smaller? I'm not really sure........we haven't all settled on the arbitrary number we're going to claim yet."

Oh reeeeaaaaallllllly ?

RichG probably feels pretty vindicated right now, I'd say.

I'm just going to keep pi$$ing and moaning on this thread for a long time to make sure it stays right at the top.

here is the latest Makah report

Your correct, 20,000 slamon is not even close to the actual count.


its more like um, well, um


50,000 or so


sorry for the um, mistake


NOT !!!!!!!!!!

I suspect by the weekend the number will have shrunk considerably. Without oversight and in person verification I would tend to not believe any of it. We'll see the spin begin soon.

I think Phil Anderson handles intergovernmental relations for the Director's office.

He used to run a charter boat out of Westport.

Big Salmon resort was going to be at the sportsman show in Monroe this month. With the right things posted on everyones cars in the parking lot it could be a lonely show for them. What would it cost to get a recend the Bolt decision booth set up next to them.

anyone else have any suggestions

Lets get this Boycott started.

This is going to suck to explain to my Eight year old son. He has been telling everyone that Neah bay is his favorit place to fish in the whole world . The two of us spent the best two days of being father and son we have ever had up there last year. I wouldn't of traded that trip for any other. He is just going to have to suffer in CQ from now on...

OMFG this is just unbelievable. I have had it with this state. The WDFW has they collective head buried so far up their (use you imagination) they'll never see the light of day without a winch.

I have an email drafted and ready to go. I've been looking for the last half hour and know there is a reference with email addresses for state agencies. Can anyone point me in the right direction while the red clears from my eyes a little???

I just sent a load of emails.

find your state legislator
http://www.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/Default.aspx

contact the governor
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.htm

find your congressman
http://www1.leg.wa.gov/common/maps/congress

contact Patty Murray
http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm

contact Marie Cantwell
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html

email the WDFW director
director@dfw.wa.gov

email WDFW enforcement
enforcement-web@dfw.wa.gov

email the WDFW commission
commission@dfw.wa.gov

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/fishing/2002168857_fish03.html

Update in the Times this morning. Appearantly the decision about whether to end the fishery is the Makah's to make!?! What a crock of S%$! I would sure like to decide for myself if I am done fishing for Halibut later this year when the quota has been reached...

How many other "open" seasons are currently being allowed by WDFW. I'm not just talking about Neah Bay, and not just Salmon. We need to find out how many other non-quota fisheries (including shellfish, and ESPECIALLY crab) are allowed throughout the state and start raising the flags now. This incident has shown how preposterous such management styles are, and we have press momentum. Who has access to this information? How can we shine a spotlight on other potentially quota-less tribal fisheries BEFORE they start?

I emailed Jeff Mayor at the News Tribune asking for his help in exposing the facts surrounding this story. I would recommend that all of us try to contact someone in the media to ensure that this story continues to get the covereage it deserves. We can rant and rave here all day long but we are preaching to the choir. We need to publicize this story as widely as possible so that it is impossible for the state and tribes to ignore.

One really has to wonder how long WDFW has known about this. This something we as a sportfishermen and concerned conservationists must find out. Please everyone and your families e-mail Governor Gregoire and ask her for a full investigation into the WDFW, let's see what she is made of. If the investigation needs to a federal investigation so be it. It is time for the restructuring of the WFDW and the director must go. I am tired of the compromises over many years that have taken place as our wild fish populations continue to decline. Any more I don't see it as a Makah Tribe issue as much as a total weakness in our fisheries department to stand up for what is right, the conservation of our fish and wildlife.

The problems over the last 4 or 5 years continue to esculate and there never seems to be a lull or a positive for our fish. Make this the issue to truely stand by and turn things around. Revolution can be a very good thing.

Lets make firing Director Koenings a top priority, he is at the helm and should be held accountable

It would seem that you just did and it wont work...

Here are afew of the tribes business's

Tribal Owned Businesses

Bay's Best Lodging
P.O. Box 115
Neah Bay, WA. 98357
Telephone: 360-645-2019
Cell Phone: 3606404831
Rates: $45.00 per night/couple
$65.00 per night for a party of four
Bay's Best Lodging is an European Style Hostel
with Kitchen Facilities Available and is open year round.
Managers: Sam and Liz Parker
Email: baysbestlodging@centurytel.net
Location: 2 miles west of Neah Bay on the Cape Flattery Road

Hobuck Beach Campgrounds and Resort
P.O. Box 115
Neah Bay WA 98357
Telephone: 360-645-2339(Leave a Message)
Manager: Shirely Perete
Rates: Camping $12.00 per night
Cabins $75.00 per night
There are 50 Beach front campsites and 4 cabins
Reservations are Highly recommended
for an extra $5.00 per night you may park your
Boat Trailer or an extra Vehicle

Warm House Restaurant
1475 Bay View Ave.
Neah Bay WA 98357
Telephone: 360-645-2924
Manager/Head Chef: David Butler
Email: mtccafe@centurytel.net
Winter Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. 7 days a week
Our New Restaurant Specializes in Fresh Seafood and Steaks(certified Angus Beef)
You may special order a whole Salmon cooked the Makah Traditional way on a stick(must order ahead)
Also the new Neo-Northwest Indian Design Restaurant overlooks the Makah Marina.

Makah Business Enterprises
Development and Management of For-Profit Business for the Makah Tribe
P.O. Box 115
Neah Bay WA. 98357
Telephone: 360-645-2097
Cell Phone: 360-640-2553
Email: mtcbusiness@centurytel.net
Helping to Build a Strong Economy for the Makah Nation
Business Including: Warm House Restaurant, Makah Fuel, Makah Smoke Shop
Bays Best Lodging, Hobuck Beach Campgrounds and Resort; Makah Rock and Gravel.