WDFW defies QIN?!?!.....

Dustin Chromers

Dustin Chromers

Legend
www.kiro7.com

WDFW refuses to close fisheries despite Quinault Nation citing ‘alarmingly low returns’ of salmon

WDFW has since decided to keep the fisheries open.
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For the record and an insignificant anecdotal data point on my end it seems there's plenty of Coho both in the mainstreams and the spawning creeks. Again this is from what I've seen ocularly. Could it be that the nets were so jammed with chum that they didn't get the coho numbers they were expecting,? This was touted as a banner year from wdfw even allowing wild coho retention in the ocean. At the end of the day I'm actually shocked the wdfw isn't doing everything the tribe tells them. They did lower the limit to one fish which to me actually seems a prudent measure. Or it could simply be to pander for that licence dollar. What do we think?
 
I don't know what we think. But I think that WDFW might be trying to re-establish relevance in salmon management by not complying with QIN's recommendation. Well, that, and the fact that there is no scientific tool at hand to corroborate QIN's conclusion. Traditional knowledge not being quite the same thing as science.
 
Salmo_g said:
I don't know what we think. But I think that WDFW might be trying to re-establish relevance in salmon management by not complying with QIN's recommendation. Well, that, and the fact that there is no scientific tool at hand to corroborate QIN's conclusion. Traditional knowledge not being quite the same thing as science.
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Could the wdfw be morphing out of its non binary lap dog submissive state and growing testicles by which to perform their own management actions and decisions? Is the world ready for that? Is the state ready for that? Are the fish ready for that? Is wdfw following the science? Apparently some very strong language was used by both sides and agreement nor submission has been reached. This is a true landmark moment with shaky hands and voice as the non binary gender neutral wdfw says in crackling voice, "no..?....?.." First it was Jay The Snake now wdfw the bull? Well obstinate steer anyway for the time being.


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DimeBrite said:
Get 'em while you can! It won't last. Politicians getting squeezed hard by tribal dollars as we speak.
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Too funny! They're only getting squeezed by the girl on her knees in front of them... politicians, if they're not kissing your baby, they're stealing it's candy! (Who knows what movie that's from?) I do!! Cheers
 
Today, WDFW gets major kudos.

Of course, there's more to the story than what the QIN claimed in their letter to WDFW, and the missing details help to explain why WDFW is holding firm for a welcome change.

The main reasons the QIN had such poor catch numbers were that a lot of the early run (where they usually get the bulk of their numbers) were upstream before they started fishing due to early rain and, more significantly, that they put in much less effort than usual (except on chum, whose eggs bring big bucks overseas), because the market for salmon was still flooded with last year's frozen Bristol Bay sockeye and only yielding a $.50/lb. Ex-vessel price. In other words, there wasn't money to be made from fishing, so they didn't go in force, and those who did missed the bulk of the front of the coho run. That adds up to weak numbers.

I can only agree with the reasons why they didn't put in the effort; it simply wasn't economically viable. From that angle, I am good with them getting hardship money from the Feds... Non-Tribal fisheries flooded the market; not the QIN.

I don't understand all the dynamics at play, but from the outside looking in, I think the truth (that non-Tribal fisheries and retailers flooded the market, causing the QIN economic hardship) would have been a plenty effective message to send. Instead, they chose to use their intentionally weak catch numbers to make a claim that they weren't fishing out of concern for the wild run. The Tribes don't place any more value on wild fish than hatchery fish in fisheries management, but they know who does... WDFW. The only incentive they had to mention early wild returns at all was to try and get everyone else off the river (with no good reason). I'm really grateful that WDFW called their bluff. The science doesn't support closing recreational fisheries, so they didn't. Whether the limit reduction was scientifically necessary remains to be seen, but I suspect WDFW used that as a tool to help justify keeping our fishery open after the QIN stopped fishing, so it was probably necessary on some level.

I'll be back to piss and vinegar when they close the steelhead fisheries again this winter, but at least for now, WDFW is off my naughty list.
 
Northern said:
Damn.
Do we have a cringe emoji?
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The drool one is new and close to a cringe. Please feel free to apply it to my low IQ posts as you see fit. I like the new drool icon. It is weird and you never know where it will fit in. Could be envy, hunger, or simply mocking stupidity like my above post with the snake in action.
 
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