wjorg
11-05-2009, 01:51 PM
You hear about this bust? I live in SF and didnt hear a peep....
From USA Fishing....
Gillnets Take 90+ of Trinity Salmon Run
Tribal gillnets are literally wiping out the entire 2009 Trinity salmon run. It's tough enough the salmon have to make it through one gauntlet on the Lower Klamath but it's the second set of nets at the Hoopa reservation on the lower Trinity that are inflicting the biggest toll. The numbers of fish fighting their way to the spawning grounds on this important tributary to the Klamath are at all time lows.
We have been highlighting this travesty for the past three weeks and it finally looks like the main steam media is starting to pick up the story and bring it to light to those outside the fishing community. We encourage out readers to help us continue to spread this message (and what to thank those of you who have already done so).
For the week ending today October 28th only 9 (nine) king salmon and four coho made their way through the weir on the main stem Trinity at Willow Creek. That brings the entire Trinity river escapement of adult king salmon since October 1st to 95 fish. That's an average of just over 3 fish per day at a time when 100s of fish should be pushing through daily.
This was avoidable and in terms of the percentage of returning fish the gillnets have wiped out (harvested or whatever term one wishes to use) over 90% this year's entire Trinity fall run of kings. This complete disregard for sustainable runs will be felt for years and could lead to the continued closures of sport and commercial fishing along the California and Oregon coasts and both tribal and sport fishing in the lower Klamath in 2012 and 2013.
On October 22nd over 20,000 pounds of Trinity river salmon netted by Hoopa gillnetters (approximately 2000 fish) was intercepted by NOAA enforcement officers at a fish processor at pier 45 in San Francisco. Unfortunately the bust was unable to be prosecuted because the Hoopa tribe has never submitted a harvest plan. These processors sell to one so called "eco minded" chain (think health food) that profess that they sell only fish from sustainable fisheries". My only question is that if you can't prosecute the netters why can't you go after the state licensed commercial fish buyers for purchasing illegally caught fish? This catch also violates three (of the total of four) the Hoopa tribal fishing codes.
Despite the fact that the Hoopa netters were busted with 20K pounds of "subsistence" fish (being sold commercially) that they broke their own laws to catch the netting continues unabated. Dozens of nets are still in the river and likely catching 100s of fish nightly while just 9 fish have made it through this past week (October 21st to the 28th). Yes, the tribes certainly are the stewards of the river, or at least it's demise.
This picture (left) taken the second week of September on the lower end of the Hoopa reservation clearly shows a series of three nets that are set bank to bank that allows little to zero escapement. The nets are set to capture all fish moving up through a deep hole where the majority of salmon stage and rest. Due to competition, gillnetters always try to set below others making for little chance of escapement. These are just three nets of 44 that were counted. Tribal anglers call this subsistence fishing. With 44 nets stacked in just a small section of river (and only an average of 3 fish per day escaping above through the Willow Creek weir ) plunder or rape may be a better choice of words. The angler who sent us this picture said every hole had two to three nets and was "impassable, unless the fish grew wings".
Not all tribal members of the many along the Klamath and Trinity agree with what is happening. There are individuals and groups that are totally against gillnetting but have little say on the fishery practices of others through their own counsel. Many agree that gillnetting is not sustainable and is destroying their true native fisheries. You will find only truth in that statement today on the lower Trinity.
Guides and businesses along the river are afraid to speak up for fear of reprisals and threats of violence. Personally I have received (and documented) many threats against me and even my children for exposing what I and many believe to be the over harvest of salmon by tribal gillnetters on the Klamath and Trinity rivers for the past many years.
To be fair it was white cannery operators who first wiped out the Klamath salmon runs in the early 1900s (pictured right) but runs recovered once commercial netting stopped. Then, like now gillnets and greed were the reason for the collapse. The only difference between then and now was that at that time no dams had been built and fishery laws were enforced to allow a come back. Today with tribal nations and no accountability on the tribes to properly manage their harvest the run is being wiped out yet again and maybe for good.
The Hoopa's are entitled to a 6000 fish quota this year. There is no telling how many fish of that quota they have caught (on top of the 2000 + they tried to illegal sell) because they have no harvest plan and don't report catches to any outside fishery agency.
Gillnetting and sportfishing quotas are all based on wild ass guess (WAGS) theories of ocean abundance and river returns that are made months in advance. More often than not these WAGS are wrong and when they are overly optimistic can result in far too many salmon being harvested. This year again shows how overly optimistic WAGS result in far too many fish being harvested.
It's time for West Coast fishery managers (PFMC, CDFG, NOAA, USFW) to do away with the WAG and practice modern fishery management.
Alaska has had great results in managing both sport and commercial salmon harvest by using sonar counters on many rivers. I feel that sonar would be ideal to manage the Klamath and Trinity river fisheries. It would do away with the WAG and harvest would be controlled by escapement. That is sound management and ensures enough salmon make it back to seed future returns.
(Pictured Left: One can clearly see the gillnet marks on this Trinity steelhead. The fish was just small enough to be able to push through the nets. Today a smaller fish is much more likely to survive as most larger brood stock salmon and steelhead are taken out by the nets)
The 101 bridge on the lower Klamath would be an ideal spot for a primary sonar counter. It's an area where the channel is small and the transponders could be easily mounted onto the bridge pilings to count all returning fish.
For instance if the Yurok tribe is allowed 20% of the in-river return for their commercial fishery they would be allowed to harvest no more (or less) of the escapement that moves past the counter at the 101 bridge. 10,000 fish move past the counter they could harvest 2000 fish, no more or less. 100,000 fish move up they get 20K, no more or less but no fishing until minimum escapement goals have been met ABOVE THE 101 BRIDGE.
Currently using the WAG, Yurok tribal netters harvested over 35000 (+ DUE TO ALL THE UNCOUNTED FISH AND THOSE NEVER REPORTED) fish in under two weeks early in the season. In the time being sport anglers harvested just 11% of their 32,000 fish quota in 2009. In 2008 sport anglers landed just 10% of their quota 22.5K fish quota but the Yurok tribe took their full allotment of 22,500 fish before 10% of the run even migrated above tide water.
To maintain an accurate count, sonar should also be installed at the mouth of the Trinity and in the main stem Klamath just upriver from the Trinity. Fish that turn into the Trinity could be counted at the mouth and again at the Willow Creek weir. The Hoopa's would be allowed to harvest their allotment of fish that make it past the Willow Creek weir, no more, no less but no fishing until minimum escapement has been met AT THE WILLOW CREEK WEIR.
Over harvest by subsistence Yurok netters on the lower Klamath has been a big problem for years but the actual impact in numbers of fish is unknown. By having sonar counters along the length of the river the true impact of legal and illegal gillnetting would be known and harvests and allotments could be adjusted to make up for these impacts in real time or loss of fishing rights in the following years.
Just a few ideas based on what has worked in Alaska which has tribal and commercial gillnetting, resident dip netting and sport all on the same rivers. They are able to adjust fishery harvest in real time and always error on the side of the fish. It's a proven method of proper fishery management. After all what sense is there is spending 10s of millions to tear down dams if tribal gillnetters continue to over harvest the brood stock.
It's time that for new styles of fishery management but unfortunately it's too late for Trinity river bound kings and coho this year. The over harvest by tribal gillnetters this season will effect future seasons of both California and Oregon sport and commercial salmon anglers for the next several years. There can be a better future for salmon, tribal, commercial and sport anglers if we are bold enough to give up old practices and work together to rebuild the salmon runs.
We owe it to future generations to correct what we ALL have screwed up so badly.
Mike Aughney
fishsite@aol.com
From USA Fishing....
Gillnets Take 90+ of Trinity Salmon Run
Tribal gillnets are literally wiping out the entire 2009 Trinity salmon run. It's tough enough the salmon have to make it through one gauntlet on the Lower Klamath but it's the second set of nets at the Hoopa reservation on the lower Trinity that are inflicting the biggest toll. The numbers of fish fighting their way to the spawning grounds on this important tributary to the Klamath are at all time lows.
We have been highlighting this travesty for the past three weeks and it finally looks like the main steam media is starting to pick up the story and bring it to light to those outside the fishing community. We encourage out readers to help us continue to spread this message (and what to thank those of you who have already done so).
For the week ending today October 28th only 9 (nine) king salmon and four coho made their way through the weir on the main stem Trinity at Willow Creek. That brings the entire Trinity river escapement of adult king salmon since October 1st to 95 fish. That's an average of just over 3 fish per day at a time when 100s of fish should be pushing through daily.
This was avoidable and in terms of the percentage of returning fish the gillnets have wiped out (harvested or whatever term one wishes to use) over 90% this year's entire Trinity fall run of kings. This complete disregard for sustainable runs will be felt for years and could lead to the continued closures of sport and commercial fishing along the California and Oregon coasts and both tribal and sport fishing in the lower Klamath in 2012 and 2013.
On October 22nd over 20,000 pounds of Trinity river salmon netted by Hoopa gillnetters (approximately 2000 fish) was intercepted by NOAA enforcement officers at a fish processor at pier 45 in San Francisco. Unfortunately the bust was unable to be prosecuted because the Hoopa tribe has never submitted a harvest plan. These processors sell to one so called "eco minded" chain (think health food) that profess that they sell only fish from sustainable fisheries". My only question is that if you can't prosecute the netters why can't you go after the state licensed commercial fish buyers for purchasing illegally caught fish? This catch also violates three (of the total of four) the Hoopa tribal fishing codes.
Despite the fact that the Hoopa netters were busted with 20K pounds of "subsistence" fish (being sold commercially) that they broke their own laws to catch the netting continues unabated. Dozens of nets are still in the river and likely catching 100s of fish nightly while just 9 fish have made it through this past week (October 21st to the 28th). Yes, the tribes certainly are the stewards of the river, or at least it's demise.
This picture (left) taken the second week of September on the lower end of the Hoopa reservation clearly shows a series of three nets that are set bank to bank that allows little to zero escapement. The nets are set to capture all fish moving up through a deep hole where the majority of salmon stage and rest. Due to competition, gillnetters always try to set below others making for little chance of escapement. These are just three nets of 44 that were counted. Tribal anglers call this subsistence fishing. With 44 nets stacked in just a small section of river (and only an average of 3 fish per day escaping above through the Willow Creek weir ) plunder or rape may be a better choice of words. The angler who sent us this picture said every hole had two to three nets and was "impassable, unless the fish grew wings".
Not all tribal members of the many along the Klamath and Trinity agree with what is happening. There are individuals and groups that are totally against gillnetting but have little say on the fishery practices of others through their own counsel. Many agree that gillnetting is not sustainable and is destroying their true native fisheries. You will find only truth in that statement today on the lower Trinity.
Guides and businesses along the river are afraid to speak up for fear of reprisals and threats of violence. Personally I have received (and documented) many threats against me and even my children for exposing what I and many believe to be the over harvest of salmon by tribal gillnetters on the Klamath and Trinity rivers for the past many years.
To be fair it was white cannery operators who first wiped out the Klamath salmon runs in the early 1900s (pictured right) but runs recovered once commercial netting stopped. Then, like now gillnets and greed were the reason for the collapse. The only difference between then and now was that at that time no dams had been built and fishery laws were enforced to allow a come back. Today with tribal nations and no accountability on the tribes to properly manage their harvest the run is being wiped out yet again and maybe for good.
The Hoopa's are entitled to a 6000 fish quota this year. There is no telling how many fish of that quota they have caught (on top of the 2000 + they tried to illegal sell) because they have no harvest plan and don't report catches to any outside fishery agency.
Gillnetting and sportfishing quotas are all based on wild ass guess (WAGS) theories of ocean abundance and river returns that are made months in advance. More often than not these WAGS are wrong and when they are overly optimistic can result in far too many salmon being harvested. This year again shows how overly optimistic WAGS result in far too many fish being harvested.
It's time for West Coast fishery managers (PFMC, CDFG, NOAA, USFW) to do away with the WAG and practice modern fishery management.
Alaska has had great results in managing both sport and commercial salmon harvest by using sonar counters on many rivers. I feel that sonar would be ideal to manage the Klamath and Trinity river fisheries. It would do away with the WAG and harvest would be controlled by escapement. That is sound management and ensures enough salmon make it back to seed future returns.
(Pictured Left: One can clearly see the gillnet marks on this Trinity steelhead. The fish was just small enough to be able to push through the nets. Today a smaller fish is much more likely to survive as most larger brood stock salmon and steelhead are taken out by the nets)
The 101 bridge on the lower Klamath would be an ideal spot for a primary sonar counter. It's an area where the channel is small and the transponders could be easily mounted onto the bridge pilings to count all returning fish.
For instance if the Yurok tribe is allowed 20% of the in-river return for their commercial fishery they would be allowed to harvest no more (or less) of the escapement that moves past the counter at the 101 bridge. 10,000 fish move past the counter they could harvest 2000 fish, no more or less. 100,000 fish move up they get 20K, no more or less but no fishing until minimum escapement goals have been met ABOVE THE 101 BRIDGE.
Currently using the WAG, Yurok tribal netters harvested over 35000 (+ DUE TO ALL THE UNCOUNTED FISH AND THOSE NEVER REPORTED) fish in under two weeks early in the season. In the time being sport anglers harvested just 11% of their 32,000 fish quota in 2009. In 2008 sport anglers landed just 10% of their quota 22.5K fish quota but the Yurok tribe took their full allotment of 22,500 fish before 10% of the run even migrated above tide water.
To maintain an accurate count, sonar should also be installed at the mouth of the Trinity and in the main stem Klamath just upriver from the Trinity. Fish that turn into the Trinity could be counted at the mouth and again at the Willow Creek weir. The Hoopa's would be allowed to harvest their allotment of fish that make it past the Willow Creek weir, no more, no less but no fishing until minimum escapement has been met AT THE WILLOW CREEK WEIR.
Over harvest by subsistence Yurok netters on the lower Klamath has been a big problem for years but the actual impact in numbers of fish is unknown. By having sonar counters along the length of the river the true impact of legal and illegal gillnetting would be known and harvests and allotments could be adjusted to make up for these impacts in real time or loss of fishing rights in the following years.
Just a few ideas based on what has worked in Alaska which has tribal and commercial gillnetting, resident dip netting and sport all on the same rivers. They are able to adjust fishery harvest in real time and always error on the side of the fish. It's a proven method of proper fishery management. After all what sense is there is spending 10s of millions to tear down dams if tribal gillnetters continue to over harvest the brood stock.
It's time that for new styles of fishery management but unfortunately it's too late for Trinity river bound kings and coho this year. The over harvest by tribal gillnetters this season will effect future seasons of both California and Oregon sport and commercial salmon anglers for the next several years. There can be a better future for salmon, tribal, commercial and sport anglers if we are bold enough to give up old practices and work together to rebuild the salmon runs.
We owe it to future generations to correct what we ALL have screwed up so badly.
Mike Aughney
fishsite@aol.com