(a) For Areas 2A and 2D, soak time must not exceed 45 minutes. Soak time is defined as the time elapsed from when the first of the gillnet web is deployed into the water until the gillnet web is fully retrieved from the water.
(b) Any steelhead or salmon that is required to be released and is bleeding or lethargic must be placed in a recovery box prior to being released to the river/bay. The recovery box must meet the requirements in (d) of this subsection.
(c) All fish placed in recovery boxes must be released to the river/bay prior to landing or docking.
(d) Each boat must have two operable recovery boxes or one box with two chambers on board when fishing Areas 2A and 2D. Each box must be operating during any time the net is being retrieved or picked. The flow in the recovery box must be a minimum of 16 gallons per minute in each chamber of the box, not to exceed 20 gallons per minute. Each chamber of the recovery box must meet the following dimensions as measured from within the box: The inside length measurement must be at or within 39-1/2 inches to 48 inches, the inside width measurements must be at or within 8 to 10 inches, and the inside height measurement must be at or within 14 to 16 inches. Each chamber of the recovery box must include a water inlet hole between 3/4 inch and 1 inch in diameter, centered horizontally across the door or wall of the chamber and 1-3/4 inches from the floor of the chamber. Each chamber of the recovery box must include a water outlet hole opposite the inflow that is at least 1-1/2 inches in diameter. The center of the outlet hole must be located a minimum of 12 inches above the floor of the box or chamber. The fisher must demonstrate to department employees, fish and wildlife enforcement officers, or other peace officers, upon request, that the pumping system is delivering the proper volume of fresh river/bay water into each chamber.
So how does it go in actual on-the-water practice?
Few if any of the non-target fish are placed in the revival boxes. As has been so aptly demonstrated on the FishingTheChehalis.net website videos, it's far easier and more convenient to just fling them overboard so as to get back to the real task at hand.... filling those totes!
Who has time for revival?
Not this guy....
Not only was his revival box NOT turned on (no outflow is evident in the pic) but it was filled with sticks and pop cans and other rubbish. Good to see enforcement took notice.
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)
"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)
big john
Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 01/21/03
Posts: 125
Loc: washington state
This evening Tim Hamilton delivered a great presentation about the “FishingTheChehalis” issues and recent history at the South Sound Puget Sound Anglers. He spoke with passion, as usual, and the audience was attentive. Lack of the “required” use of recovery boxes was one of many topics he discussed. The club had to vacate their meeting room by 9 PM, so unfortunately Q&A time was limited.
Registered: 12/29/99
Posts: 1611
Loc: Vancouver, Washington
This is bewildering. Presumably, buying and installing the revival box cost this guy time and money. As such, it would seem trivial for him to then USE IT. Anyone with a pair of field glasses can easily see whether it's being used or not. Or whether it's even operational, which this one clearly is not. It's one thing to disregard the law, but it's another to make it so obvious.
Maybe I'm giving these guys too much intellectual credit.
Not that it really matters, but it is unfortunate they appear to have a youngster on board (in front with the blue PFD). This is clearly not the example that any commercial fishmen wants to set for any youngster. Another reason to be disappointed in the behavior.
Registered: 12/29/99
Posts: 1611
Loc: Vancouver, Washington
Fish Doc post indicates:
"Any steelhead or salmon that is required to be released and is bleeding or lethargic must be placed in a recovery box prior to being released to the river/bay."
Not sure how to interpret this, but the intent seems clear. The purpose of the revival box is to revive fish that need to be released. Now, if the revival box has no water in it, placing a fish in said box fails to achieve it's intended purpose. Which gets back to my original point - Why have it if you're not going to use it as it intended?
There is no requirement to actually use the revival box.
Correct.... if the fish is deemed to be neither lethargic or bleeding, there is no requirement for it to go in the box.
Totally up to the operator's discretion.
Dealing with unretainable bycatch is an impediment/nuisance that interferes with the task at hand.... filling the holds. Much easier to just heave the "worthless" fish overboard and get on with the business of picking your money fish.
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)
"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)
Todd
Dick Nipples
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 28170
Loc: Seattle, Washington USA
The only way...one, single, only way...to stop this stuff is to get non tribal commercial fishers out of our inland waters completely. Otherwise there will be overharvest and dead "live released" fish, recovery boxes or not.
The problem with any "selective" entanglement fishery for fall salmon, wherever it has been employed by WDFW, is that the ability of participants to revive lethargic salmon is simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of encounters with non-target bycatch.
During the heart of the fishery, there is simply NOT enough time nor capacity to revive the fish that must be released.
_________________________
"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)
"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)
The lunacy of this is not that the mortality might be what they actually say ~20% of the released wild fish die, but that they will encounter multiple nets per night. Even if the mortality is not additive, its still going to wipe out most of the non-target fish passing through during the netting.
Fishyfeller
Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 06/22/13
Posts: 191
Loc: Port Angeles, Wa
The fleet should be required to have a 2nd transport boat that collects the recovering fish and take them up river to be released above the nets.
Sounds like a win -win idea to me. They don't have to keep removing undesirable fish and hopefully they keep swimming up river when released above the nets.
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