Here is the most recent article from Lorraine Loomis, Chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. If you did not know it was from her, you would probably think it was from a rec. fishermen!

This article highlights just how much we HAVE IN COMMON. It pains me to think about how much we could accomplish IF ONLY, we could stop all the finger pointing and posturing and role our sleeves up, shake hands and work together. Of course, to do that, we must trust each other, and for that, we MUST HAVE EVERYTHING OUT IN THE OPEN!!

If any tribal members are reading this, PLEASE, reach out to us and lets start the dialogue needed to truly work cooperatively. Our fish cannot wait for our foolishness and pride to get out of the way...
OpenNOF@Gmail.com


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Being Frank is a monthly column written by the chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. As a statement from the NWIFC chair, the column represents the interests and concerns of treaty Indian tribes throughout western Washington.

All natural resources are connected and we are all connected to them, but most of those resources are not being managed as part of a larger whole, and that can lead to huge imbalances in this ecosystem we call home.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the alarming decline of Puget Sound chinook and southern resident killer whales, and the population explosion of harbor seals and California sea lions.

Puget Sound chinook were listed under the ESA in 1999 and their numbers have only declined since then. They show no signs of recovery because their habitat is being lost faster than it can be restored.

Southern resident killer whale populations in Puget Sound are also ESA listed. Their numbers are now at a 30-year low. The main reason? Loss of their favorite food: chinook salmon.

Meanwhile, populations of harbor seals and California sea lions are at an all-time high. They’re being increasingly blamed for contributing to the ongoing decline of both Puget Sound chinook and southern resident killer whales. In fact, seals and sea lions today are believed to be taking more chinook than sport, commercial and treaty tribal fisheries combined.

You would think that the answer to the problem would be to fix the habitat that chinook rely on to increase their numbers, providing more food for the orcas and making up for the huge appetites of seals and sea lions.

Instead, fishermen will once again carry the largest share of the burden of conservation.

The latest example comes from the updated harvest management plan for Puget Sound chinook that was delivered to NOAA Fisheries Dec. 1. The 10-year plan was developed by the treaty tribal and state co-managers through a federal court-mediated process that began in early 2017. The plan now being reviewed lays out conservation and management goals for all fisheries that affect protected Puget Sound chinook and includes impacts from fisheries in Alaska and British Columbia.

The take-home message: Treaty tribal and non-Indian fisheries will be further restricted, especially in years of low abundance. In Puget Sound, increased restrictions will be needed to protect weak stocks of naturally spawning chinook from the Snohomish and Stillaguamish rivers because those fish are caught throughout the region.

Producing more salmon from our hatcheries provides no solution unless habitat is also addressed. Once a salmon is released from a hatchery it has the same habitat needs as naturally spawning salmon. That includes access to and from the sea, good spawning habitat and plenty of cool, clean water.

We aren’t going to restore salmon habitat overnight. It’s taken many years for things to get as bad as they are now. But there are some things we can start to do right now that could lead to real improvement:

Develop uniform standards for critical streamside lands that protect water quality;
Establish and enforce water quality and quantity standards that protect, conserve and restore water for salmon;
Prioritize funding for fish-blocking culvert removal;
Gather data on the populations, diets and ecological impacts of seals and sea lions in Puget Sound and along the coast to ensure that their management is compatible with recovery efforts for salmon and southern resident killer whales.
We won’t make a difference for Puget Sound chinook or killer whales until we stop relying on easy answers – like reducing harvest – to fix a complex problem.

Salmon need habitat. Everything else needs salmon.

(END)

Lorraine Loomis is the chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Both sides want more fish to catch, we have that in common.
I have to disagree with this part as I have yet to see evidence:


She should specify Sport fisheries. Nothing in th PSCMP about non tribal commercial.

"Nothing in the PSCMP about non tribal commercial."

Really?!! Was there that big of an overlooked component or did they just lump it all together as NI? Being lazy cause I don't want to go read the whole thing again.

It’s difficult to compare apples to apples as the terms change throughout the document.
On page 11 the recreational catch for Puget Sound Chinook is listed at 17,947.

On page 13 it says commercial harvest has averaged 102,500 a year over last ten years.
On page 14 the chart shows around 75,000 commercial Chinook harvested last year.(don’t see exact number)

In the January 12 wdfw presentation, it broke down all the impacts to Stillaguamish Chinook and how both tribal and recreational fisheries would be effected.
No impacts listed for non tribal commercial or mention of there fisheries being effected.

Took that long to produce such sloppy work!

NI commercial fisheries directed at chinook are extremely lmited
- basically one "major" terminal fishery in Bellingham Bay, directed at fall Chinook returning to the Samish- which likely has no impacts on Stilly or Sno, given the location and timing. The other being the recent seine fishery in front of Hoodsport hatchery, which again, would have no impacts to Stilly or Sno summers. Remember there is a NI recreational priority in Puget sound for Chinook and coho salmon.

We have may priority but they get 5 times our harvest.

I think you're confusing total Commercial catch which would include tribal commercial and non-tribal commercial. I was describing the non-tribal commercial only, which do not take multiple times the fish that recs do, at least not for Chinook.

Ok then how much do they take?

See table 3. in this Puget Sound Commercial Regs doc. Look at the Chinook numbers in the Nooksack/Samish row. The numbers are only through the 2007 fishery, however, I cannot believe that they would have changed much from the range presented here. It, at least gives you a scale of the NI commercial catch of Chinook.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01920/wdfw01920.pdf