Hate to spread rumors, however heard it on the radio and followed up with a call to WDFW - Mill Creek, Lake Washington might be closing to Sockeye fishing either friday or sunday night. Look for a news release this afternoon from WDFW: http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/do/newreal/index.htm
Mill Creek was tight lipped, wouldn't elaborate on any details.

Kev


[This message has been edited by Kev (edited 07-12-2000).]

In the official release the gov is quick to take credit for providing this fishery to the citizens.

I think they only did it so they could sell a few licenses...which they did.

It's unfortunate that the huge number of WDF employees can't be held accountable for what they have done to the resource. At least they should loose careers and jobs along with the public sector people who had their lives hanging on fishing that is no longer permitted. Instead the gov has them out checking hooks and generally harassing the public.

You seem to be quite critical of WDFW on this, given you felt it necessary to respond this way on two different threads. Just what did WDFW do that was so irresponsible to the resource? WDFW didn't even want to open this fishery, pulled its bios out of the locks; it was the tribes that continued the counts. An estimate was made that there were harvestable numbers above escapement, so a fishery was set. The estimate was revised downward when it was apparent that the run was early and numbers through the locks began to dwindle much sooner than past years. The fishery was stopped to ensure escapement.

This is how a fishery is managed. Is WDFW responsible for the dams, logging, agriculture, and development that are the very real and undeniable human culprits of the decline of our salmon runs? Do they have control over El Ninos and other unknown reasons for poor ocean survival? Is WDFW resonsible for the Treaties that require the divy of fish among 3 different users? Are they responsible for the lack of organization and power of sport fishing groups, who tend to get the shaft?

Everybody knows that a government agency, just about by definition, is going to have issues of efficiency and is influenced by politics, but by inlarge, they do the job. Can they do it better, certainly. Is there an Old Guard, quite likely. Lose a career because ocean survival was great, but not great enough? Gives us a break.

[This message has been edited by obsessed (edited 07-13-2000).]

Kev,
Closes Sunday

Steely,

I'm with Obsessed. What exactly did WDFW do that they shouldn't have? It appears to me that they used the best information they had to regulate a popular fishery. What is it they should have done instead?

As for the Gov claiming any credit; well, most folks on this board would be aware that Gary doesn't know squat about fish, nor does he really care.

Everyone I've ever known at WDFW really like fish, and most like fishing. They don't work there in hopes of selling us licenses and then shutting down fishing seasons. They work within the many constraints imposed on them to try to maintain or restore healthy fish stocks. Anything else wouldn't make sense. There are more remunerative jobs in this world with a lot less grief.

I'm beginning to think that the price of admission to criticize should be the inclusion of a better alternative than the one being criticized.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.