Ethics

[Dustin Revel]

things are a little quiet around here lately and an ethics post should cure that...

My question is: At what point does fishing for steelhead as "sport" become unethical? when the fish become threatened? endangered?

I have read just about every fisheries analysis/evaluation available to the public (and many that are not) that are relevant to the streams I fish. The only thing that I have gathered from this research is that we hit rock bottom sometime between 1975 & 1990 (for northern california coastal steelhead) and most runs are actually increasing at a very slow rate. as for central valley species we're still trying to find rock bottom... before giving my thoughts I'll see where this goes.

[David Lee]

I personally doubt there's ANY genetic purity left in the vast majority of California Rivers , so all those races of Steelhead native to each watershed have been diluted beyond hope ? I'd guess early last century , perhaps around the time Shasta dam went up .

Ethical = hooked INSIDE the mouth (for me , anyways) .

Depressing thoughts .....

David

[troutless]

Good luck trying to reason out an answer to that.

Let's assume we are talking the limiting case of catch-and-release only, limited seasons, barbless articificials etc.

You are trading incidental mortality and loss of spawning fitness vs. loss of the political influence of focused and passionate conservation advocates. Both are fairly hard to quantify.

I don't think there is a one size fits all answer, it is going to be stream by stream. Do you want a "per-stream" metric or are you asking a broader question, at what point do we stop fishing for steelhead, at all?

[jbird]

My opinion is that sport fishing for steelhead in streams and rivers has very little impact on the overall population of returning fish. I dont believe closing them is the answer. The hatchery programs have sent the genetic strength of wild stock spiralling downward. As rivers become overwhelmed by hatchery influence and wild fish are no longer 100% wild, their offspring become unable to survive as well as the previous generation. They just become unable to complete the cycle of life like their native ancestors. Its a brutal world just getting to the ocean for the smolts. Once they make it, it gets worse. Genetically engineered fish are more prone to fail the task.

To touch on an earlier thread, we are too far down the hatchery road to turn back. Hatcheries are what keeps our sport alive in many areas.

Theres no clear answer to your question as we sit here in 2010/2011. If you had asked this question a half century ago..............

Am I saying its too late to revitalize a strong foundation of native steelhead? It may be.

[Woodman]

I think there are two elements to this question.

1) comply with the law

2) think through the question, get educated, and form your own opinion of what's the right thing to do, then follow it.

Part of ethics is accepting that others may have a different view than you do.

[Mark Kranhold]

Hey jbird ,is that your spouse on your post picture. I can hardly read with that in my face. Very beautiful.

[bubzilla]

This question has been presented many times. Is fishing for a fish that may be in jeapardy of survival unethical? Perhaps. Problem is that there are many practices that have contributed to the state of fisheries, in a manner far greater than fishing, where very few seem to question the ethics. We may not like to admit it, and many will deny it flatly, but our collective lifestyle as Americans are doing far more to jeapordize the future of these fish than anything we as individuals are doing as fishermen. Non-point source pollution, dams, deforestation, large-scale urbanization, etc. Is driving an SUV ethical? Is living in a air conditioned wood frame home filled with a mass of electronic gadgets in suburbia ethical? Who knows. Moreover, who cares? We're not going to change any of that any time soon. Unfortunately, it all has way more impact on the health of our fisheries than our fishing practices.

My Dad and I had a phenominal day of waterfowl hunting one day when I was kid. On the drive home that night, he got very serious and emotional and apologized to me for teaching me to hunt instead of teaching me to play golf. Why? The sport he had taught me to enjoy was changing in a way that would make it completely unidentifiable to me as an adult. Birds used to darken the sky when I was kid--and I am not that old. There is still hunting today, but to compare it to what existed when I was young would be false. It wasn't overhunting that ended that legacy; it was man's voracious appetite for more than he needs. The same is why I will apologize to my children someday for teaching them to fish.

[FlyReelFisher]

Stop the Hatchery. It is pernicious for wild fish. Stop fishing with bait. Start charging $200 for NonResident liscences, somethin like Oregon and BC.

Make the sport so hard it will be discouraging. Maybe then the masses will take up the cause.

[mr. 3 wt.]

How about pay to play. Only the rich can fish for steelhead.

[Dustin Revel]

I guess I was too vague.

Is fishing for steelhead that are listed as endangered ethical?
Is fishing for steelhead that are threatened ethical?

the answers to these questions will obviously vary greatly from person to person.

[Dustin Revel]

This question has been presented many times. Is fishing for a fish that may be in jeapardy of survival unethical? Perhaps. Problem is that there are many practices that have contributed to the state of fisheries, in a manner far greater than fishing, where very few seem to question the ethics. We may not like to admit it, and many will deny it flatly, but our collective lifestyle as Americans are doing far more to jeapordize the future of these fish than anything we as individuals are doing as fishermen. Non-point source pollution, dams, deforestation, large-scale urbanization, etc. Is driving an SUV ethical? Is living in a air conditioned wood frame home filled with a mass of electronic gadgets in suburbia ethical? Who knows. Moreover, who cares? We're not going to change any of that any time soon. Unfortunately, it all has way more impact on the health of our fisheries than our fishing practices.

My Dad and I had a phenominal day of waterfowl hunting one day when I was kid. On the drive home that night, he got very serious and emotional and apologized to me for teaching me to hunt instead of teaching me to play golf. Why? The sport he had taught me to enjoy was changing in a way that would make it completely unidentifiable to me as an adult. Birds used to darken the sky when I was kid--and I am not that old. There is still hunting today, but to compare it to what existed when I was young would be false. It wasn't overhunting that ended that legacy; it was man's voracious appetite for more than he needs. The same is why I will apologize to my children someday for teaching them to fish.

this is all very true.

[cyama]

Not sure what you are trying to accomplish, but the area you fish is under review. I am sure you are aware of this. The areas where most of this board fish are heavily supplemented with hatchery fish. To me fishing for hatchery steelies has no consequence. These areas have already been decimated. If you practice good catch and release tactics it should have no effect.

The problem is when people catch and keep, or they just don't know how to play and release the fish properly.

Just keep fishing and educate those that you can.:D




Species ProfileEnvironmental Conservation Online System
steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Kingdom: Animalia Class: Actinopterygii Order: Salmoniformes Family: Salmonidae

Listing Status: Endangered (and others listed below)

Quick links: Federal Register Recovery Critical Habitat Conservation Plans Petitions Life History Other Resources

General Information

Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) belong to the family Salmonidae which includes all salmon, trout, and chars. Steelhead are similar to some Pacific salmon in their life cycle and ecological requirements. They are born in fresh water streams, where they spend their first 1-3 years of life. They then emigrate to the ocean where most of their growth occurs. After spending between one to four growing seasons in the ocean, steelhead return to their native fresh water stream to spawn. Unlike Pacific salmon, steelhead do not necessarily die after spawning and are able to spawn more than once.

Population detail

The FWS is currently monitoring the following populations of the steelhead


Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in rivers from the Santa Maria R., San Luis Obispo County, CA (inclusive) to Malibu Cr., Los Angeles County, CA (inclusive)
Listing status: Endangered
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: U.S.A. (OR) All naturally spawned winter-run populations in the Willamette R. and its tributaries from Willamette Falls to the Calapooia R., inclusive
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Oregon , Washington
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in the Upper Columbia R. Basin upstream from the Yakima R., WA, to the U.S./Canada border, and also including the Wells Hatchery stock
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Washington
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in streams from the Russian R. to Aptos Cr., Santa Cruz County, CA (inclusive), and the drainages of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays eastward to the Napa R. (inclusive), Napa County, CA, excluding the Sacramento-San Joaquin R. Basin of the Central Valley of CA
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in streams from the Pajaro R. (inclusive) located in Santa Cruz County, CA, to (but not including) the Santa Maria R
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries, excluding San Francisco and San Pablo Bays and their tributaries
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
USFWS Refuges in which this population is known to occur: BUTTE SINK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, SACRAMENTO RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, SUTTER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in streams and tributaries to the Columbia R. between the Cowlitz and Wind Rivers, WA, inclusive, and the Willamette and Hood Rivers, OR, inclusive, excluding the Upper Willamette River Basin above Willamette Falls and excluding the Little and Big White Salmon Rivers in WA
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Oregon , Washington
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: U.S.A. (OR, WA) All naturally spawned populations in streams above and excluding the Wind R. in Washington, and the Hood R. in Oregon, upstream to, and including, the Yakima R. Excluded are steelhead from the Snake R. Basin
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Oregon
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations and their progeny in river basins from Redwood Creek in Humboldt County, CA to the Gualala River in Mendocino County, CA (inclusive)
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: All naturally spawned populations (and their progeny) in streams in the Snake R. Basin of southeast WA, northeast OR, and ID
Listing status: Threatened
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Idaho , Oregon , Washington
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Population location: Klamath Mountains Province steelhead(Oncorhynchus mykiss).Includes all Naturally spawned populations of Steelhead (and their progeny) in coastal river basins ranging from the Elk River in Curry County, Oregon, to the Klamath River, inclusive, in Del Norte County, California
Listing status: Under Review
States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: California , Oregon
US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
Current Listing Status Summary
Status Date Listed Lead Region Where Listed
Endangered 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) southern CA coast
Threatened 08/02/1999 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) upper Willamette R.
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) upper Columbia R. Basin
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) central CA coast
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) south central CA coast
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) Central Valley CA
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) lower Columbia R.
Threatened 08/02/1999 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) middle Columbia R.
Threatened 09/07/2000 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) northern CA
Threatened 06/17/1998 National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) Snake R. Basin
Under Review National Marine Fisheries Service (Region 11) Klamath Mountains Province
» Federal Register Documents

[Covelo]

I think what is unethical, or just plain arrogant, is to be tossing hatchery fish into a river that has a threatened wild population for the sole purpose of a put and take fishery. The unethical part to me, besides the genetic damage done by the hatchery fish, is the thinking that we are taking only hatchery fish while releasing all the threatened wild fish unharmed. This of course is a facade. For me it is not the fishing so much in this circumstance that is unethical, but the whole arrangement that is frequently rationalized and deemed justifiable. I am not talking about rivers like the American where the dam is so low that all natural spawning grounds have been cut off. But for rivers like the Sac, Trinity, Klamath, Umpqua, Smith and Russian, there is still considerable, if not a majority of natural spawning habitat available. I don't consider the listing status of any particular fish run to make this any less ethical, since we are now knowingly justifying the demise for any river with wild fish and a hatchery. One of the big reasons I was against the regs to prohibit take of wild fish on the Smith and Umpqua Rivers, besides the fact that they were not supported by data, was that it essentially means the hatcheries there are now permanent, at least until the wild stock on those rivers crash and become federally listed. That probably won't even matter as they will blame something else and keep the hatchery for the revenue.

For rivers without hatcheries that contain federally listed runs, I thought the ESA made any harassment of these fish illegal. I never fully understood how C&R fisheries were made legal on rivers like the Eel and Matolle. Most fishermen probably believe that if these runs were truly imperiled then the governing agencies would have never left them open to C&R.

[Bob Laskodi]

"For rivers without hatcheries that contain federally listed runs, I thought the ESA made any harassment of these fish illegal. I never fully understood how C&R fisheries were made legal on rivers like the Eel and Matolle. Most fishermen probably believe that if these runs were truly imperiled then the governing agencies would have never left them open to C&R."
The ESA has a "sliding scale" of allowable activities (such as fishing, etc) based upon whether the species is listed as "threatened" or "endangered". Mostly (but not always), sport fishing is allowed (usually with restrictions) on "threatened" species. Typically, sport fishing is not allowed on species listed as "endangered". As a general rule, listing a species as "endangered" really restricts activities by a huge margin and has a huge impact, while "threatened" does not have near the same magnitude of protections. And then there's "species of concern" which adds a whole 'nother set of variables of Federal management for those species which do not have an ESA listing!

[Darian]

There's a relatively thoughtful article on this subject on page 38 of the current issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Water magazine. I tend to agree with the authors point that nothing a recreational angler does in this arena will affect a change in the status of a species when compared to that of the activities of commercial fisherman/industry.

The author, also, makes the point that market based sustainable-seafood programs educate consumers but as long as the great majority of the fish eating public feels that if a fish is on the menu it must be OK to eat not much will change here either.

So, this really appears to be an individual choice that probably will make us feel good regardless of which side of the fence we're on but not much else. We (recreational anglers) don't appear to have had a lot of positive impact on things so far, given the current state of our fisheries.