Orcas, Dams, Hatcheries, Pinnipeds, Contaminates, Fishing Closures.

As many of you may or may not know I was chosen to be on the SRKW Task Force by Governor Inslee to save our Southern Resident Killer Whales. It has been quite a ride. Forty five people on the Task Force Body and three more groups of other staffed people called Prey, Contaminates, and Vessels workgroups. Prey deals with feeding the Orcas, Vessels is how boats interact with the orcas, and Contaminates that deal with chemicals in the water.

It has been overwhelming to keep up with all of the information. There obviously aren't enough salmon for them to eat or they would not be starving. The J Pod frequents the Strait, San Juan, and Puget Sound and goes up into the inner waters of Canada mostly. K and L go to the ocean and go far down the coast to feed on salmon. J staying local really relies on mostly Fraser River fish and whatever other fish are available. They don't have enough breedable females to keep them thriving. (Big Females were taken out decades ago for Marine World type shows and really damaged them.)   But in the meantime they need to have enough fish to eat to stay healthy so they are not living from their fat content where all of their PCBs are stored, which makes them sick. So they need lots of salmon so as not to use their stored body fat. Now enter Pinnipeds (Seals and Sealions), as they are eating double the salmon of the Orcas and 6 times as many as recreational, commercials, and tribes combined. It has been a hot button to try to get action taken on culling the pinnipeds. The tribes and us are aligned on this issue.

Hatcheries are going to play a major role and we support the 50 Million Chinook increase request by the WDFW Commission and Suspension of the three major points of the Hatchery Science Review Groups recommendations. This allowed egg take to make more salmon once funded. The Orcas need us to start making more fish now. They can help by increasing spill at the Columbia River Dams which we have agreed to up to a certain threshold to help. No more time for studies on whether we can take down the Snake River Dams, fix habitat, clean the water, etc. Without immediate fish the Orcas are doomed. Our coastal and tribal communities that rely on fishing are going the same way as the Orcas. Sitting in a meeting with some of our tribes I watched Phil Anderson tell that he is watching his own town of Westport die right before his very own eyes. This is what we have been doing to many communities that rely on fish to keep their power on, hospitals and schools open. We don't see this as we are not there. Making a small closure on the west side of San Juan Island where the whales are hardly ever there anymore is just a feel good measure that takes the eye off of the real issue-NO FISH!  

I hope that when we are all done, NOAA and the state will come together and find the place to do the 50 million Chinook increase where possible and get us all back on the water while saving our precious Orcas

Ron Garner State Board President Puget Sound Anglers

Pod cast on Ocra Whales with Butch Smith from Coho Charters    

Protecting Washington’s Yelloweye Rockfish

Rockfish Identification Flyer    

Video - Rockfish are back!!

Did you know that some yelloweye rockfish that are here today were Washington residents before it became a state in 1889? They have been and continue to be an important part of our heritage.

Halibut and bottomfish fishing have also been a part of Washington’s culture for hundreds of years. Many generations of fishermen have relied on halibut and bottomfish for food and recreation.

Fishery Management

A recent stock assessment indicates that the yelloweye rockfish population has declined over 80% from its initial level.  As a result, immediate action must be taken if the stocks of these long-lived fish are to be rebuilt. 

To rebuild yelloweye rockfish populations, the harvest opportunities for this species must be severely curtailed.  In recent years, the Pacific Fishery Management Council has set yelloweye rockfish harvest levels for all commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries combined for California, Oregon, and Washington of about 17 metric tons (mt). This number includes yelloweye rockfish that are discarded at sea.

The Washington recreational harvest target is about 2.7 mt (fewer than 1,000 fish) in coastal waters.  To put this in perspective, in 2001, the Washington recreational fishery harvested 15 mt.