Tag Archives: Washington Fish and Wildlife
Fish from Washington’s coastal commercial troll Chinook fishery are a more sustainable way to eat salmon
Washington Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) says the coastal commercial troll Chinook fishery will begin May 1, and encourages customers to keep an eye out for locally caught salmon. It says the fishery is unique for both its economic and environmental impacts. “A lot of the people who hold troller permits are families that have been doing this for generations in Washington state,” WDFW Marine Salmon Fisheries Policy Coordinator Dr. Alexandrea Safiq said. Fisherman Geoff Lebon says trollers catch different stocks throughout the summer and pace their fishing to fit the market, keeping costs lower for customers. Video, >click to read< 09:47
Oregon did the right thing in backing off gillnet ban on the main Columbia River. Washington state should too.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is to be commended for recognizing that a 2013 policy dictated by former Gov. John Kitzhaber to kick commercial salmon fishing off the Columbia River has failed. It isn’t just Lower Columbia River residents who think so. Bobby Levy, former commission chair, commented on Facebook, “Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissioners did the fair and right thing! I applaud you!!” Levy led the commission in 2012 and 2013 when the two fish and wildlife commissions of Oregon and Washington state headed down the path to implementing the Kitzhaber scheme. Never fully thought out, gutting a centurylong tradition of supplying local consumers with some of the salmon we support with our taxes and electric rates was largely the product of intense lobbying by one subset of recreational fishing, embodied by the Northwest Sportsfishing Industry Association. A long-successful alliance between different salmon-fishing interests was cast aside, resulting in a loss of important unified advocacy for salmon recovery in the Columbia estuary and basin. Evicting gillnetters from the main stem of the Columbia by the end of 2016 was premised on a number of assumptions, including: Read the rest of the op-ed here 08:29
Dozens of sturgeon found dead in Columbia River
Washington Fish and Wildlife officials have received repeated reports of dead sturgeon this week on the Columbia River. On Wednesday, Paul Hoffarth, district biologist for Fish and Wildlife, began adding up the sightings. His rough total came to 66 dead sturgeon in the Columbia River from McNary Dam to Boardman. More than 20 were reported upstream, from the Hanford Reach downstream to the McNary Dam. The exact cause of the die-off of the largest freshwater fish in North America is a mystery. Read the rest here 08:25
WHOA! HANDS UP!! – Fish and Wildlife Enforcement division splintered by internal conflict
The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s enforcement division is a serious mess and someone needs to be held accountable, says a parade of critics both inside and outside the division. Controversy surrounding the department’s administration – including internal investigations, allegations of cronyism and a federal civil rights lawsuit – has been circulating among Washington’s game wardens and marine officers for years. But what was once an internal affair has now boiled over into the legislature, and the level of dysfunction is becoming undeniable. Read the rest here. 13:07
