Posted by: Born To Be Wild
Cathlamet Meeting Tomorrow night - Do you care? - 10/19/05 02:21 PM
Here is a very interesting letter my brother recieved from an individual he met that spoke at the Vancouver allocation meeting last week in Vancouver.
We need an overwhelming show at the Cathlamet allocation meeting tomorrow night and the commission meetings in the future.
We need to fight for a better allocation percentage accross the board for example an 80/20 split instead of the 60/40 we have presently on springer's or the 50/50 split on fall chinook/URB's until non tribal gill netting is eliminated from the Columbia River as is in all other rivers in the US.
I will speak tomorrow night at the meeting expressing my dissapointment in Monday's Compact decision and point out the flaws in the poor management decision made by the joint ODFW/WDFW staff along with a wild fish issue apparently over looked.
As far as I know, there were only 3 individual sporties from Longview at the Vancouver meeting but tomorrows meeting in Cathlamet is in our back yard and the gill netters front yard.
We need another write up like this one from The Dailey News:
Obviously the netters will testify at tomorrows meeting held in their very own neighborhood.
Why was a big city like Cathlamet chosen for an allocation meeting? :rolleyes:
We need a big showing again tomorrow night folks!
Carpool or whatever it takes...
The ball is rolling and the pendulum is changing and non tribal gill netting will be a thing of the past in the not so distant future.
Dano
Quote:
Thank you for contacting me. I agree that our fisheries management is in a state of decline and largely ruled by commercial fishing interests. Since I come from a political background, (having worked for a state senator, testifiying at the state and national level, etc.) I can tell you that the fisheries management issue is 90% political and 10% biology. In this specific case, you have a small private interest group (commercials) that are very well organized and fairly well funded dictating the fisheries management of the Columbia River, etc. They are extremely well connected politically with legislators in the coastal communities who strongly support their agenda. The commercials focus heavily on the economic angle (distressed community-need to feed the family & support the community, etc) to support their agenda to control the allocations. Sportsfishing interests truly have no one to blame but themselves. For years, sportsfishing interests have fought among themselves or shown complete apathy to the political process. As a result, you find the situation we are in today where a small minority group of 150 individuals can control the fisheries as they now exist. Sportsfishing POTENTIALLY represents one of the largest, if not the largest, political action committee in the Pacific Northwest. However, this potential will only be realized with a well organized group that packs the political clout and funding necessary to force changes in the Northwest. Believe me, legislators & commissioners will listen to a sportsfishing interests that can deliver several hundred thousand votes and contribute thousands of dollars to specific campaigns. That is the lifeblood of politicians. So, our goal is to do the following:
1.) Develop a single well organized group that represents only sportsfishing interests.
2.) Develop a large enough voting block with this group to make legislators and commissioners take notice.
3.) Raise enough funding to support candidates that are pro-sportsfishing.
4.) Partner with those organizations that have enough mutual interests to agree with our platform.
The solution to this problem is relatively easy, it is the plan execution that is difficult. Hopefully, sportsfishing interests have received the message that if they do not become part of the solution by attending these meetings, that they are part of the problem. The cathlamet meeting attendance will go a long ways in proving whether sportsfishing interests will follow through or whether the vancouver meeting was a one time "flash in the pan" and things will revert back to status quo. Only with a powerful, well organized sportsfishing lobby will the back door allocation deals, etc. go away. I plan on attending the cathlamet meeting.
Thanks, Clint
Clint Page
President and CEO
Dotster, Inc.
11807 NE 99th St.
Suite 1100
Vancouver, WA 98682
1.) Develop a single well organized group that represents only sportsfishing interests.
2.) Develop a large enough voting block with this group to make legislators and commissioners take notice.
3.) Raise enough funding to support candidates that are pro-sportsfishing.
4.) Partner with those organizations that have enough mutual interests to agree with our platform.
The solution to this problem is relatively easy, it is the plan execution that is difficult. Hopefully, sportsfishing interests have received the message that if they do not become part of the solution by attending these meetings, that they are part of the problem. The cathlamet meeting attendance will go a long ways in proving whether sportsfishing interests will follow through or whether the vancouver meeting was a one time "flash in the pan" and things will revert back to status quo. Only with a powerful, well organized sportsfishing lobby will the back door allocation deals, etc. go away. I plan on attending the cathlamet meeting.
Thanks, Clint
Clint Page
President and CEO
Dotster, Inc.
11807 NE 99th St.
Suite 1100
Vancouver, WA 98682
We need to fight for a better allocation percentage accross the board for example an 80/20 split instead of the 60/40 we have presently on springer's or the 50/50 split on fall chinook/URB's until non tribal gill netting is eliminated from the Columbia River as is in all other rivers in the US.
I will speak tomorrow night at the meeting expressing my dissapointment in Monday's Compact decision and point out the flaws in the poor management decision made by the joint ODFW/WDFW staff along with a wild fish issue apparently over looked.
As far as I know, there were only 3 individual sporties from Longview at the Vancouver meeting but tomorrows meeting in Cathlamet is in our back yard and the gill netters front yard.
We need another write up like this one from The Dailey News:
Quote:
During a meeting held Wednesday in Vancouver, sports fishermen called for reducing or eliminating gillnetting -- and no commercial fishermen testified.
Why was a big city like Cathlamet chosen for an allocation meeting? :rolleyes:
We need a big showing again tomorrow night folks!
Carpool or whatever it takes...
The ball is rolling and the pendulum is changing and non tribal gill netting will be a thing of the past in the not so distant future.
Dano