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FISHERMEN'S CORNER

    Here we meet the fishermen!  How do they feel?  How are they impacted? To what do they attribute the Klamath River fish concerns?  We share with you their input and related articles.
    Also here we find fish reports.

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Salmon trollers, others sue federal agency over catch cutbacks, Newport News 6/8/95. Sign holders  l-r Rayburn Guerin, President Oregon Trollers Association, Cheri Moore and AD Evanow, vp OTA


PLF Files Lawsuit to Block Federal Regulation Slashing
Fishing Season by More than Half Despite Record
Numbers of Salmon, posted 6/5/05.

 
* The effect of ocean Conditions on salmon survival and returns  POWER POINT presented by Joseph C Greene, Research Biologist of Greene Environmental Services 6/11/06
Klamath Courier series: Klamath Irrigators and Coastal Fishermen:
      They did not restore the Klamath salmon in 20 years; And now they want more money to manage fish and farms, Klamath Courier 2/8/06
       "They misspent $20 million dollars", Coos County Commissioner weighs in on fisheries management and agriculture,  Klamath Courier, posted to KBC 2/6/06.
      
Coastal Fishermen meet with Klamath Water Users What happened to Klamath River salmon?, Klamath Courier 1/25/06. "Coastal Fishermen told Klamath farmers that the government is breaking the law, destroying the fisheries, and blaming Klamath Project irrigators for results of the government's mismanagement."
Fishy definitions, compiled by Julie Smithson, 11/15/06. For anyone hoping to make sense of scientific reports or fishery data, this information is essential. Smithson defines terms like 'Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Habitat Effectiveness Index (HEI), etc to help us understand technical reports. Thank you Julie.
FULL NAS report: Delayed upwelling alters nearshore coastal ocean ecosystems in the northern California currents, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science March 2007. HERE for summary, "We devote a large amount of our resources for salmon recovery to in-stream habitat restoration ... but should also be focusing some resources on learning more about the oceanic conditions that effect salmon population health as well."

 

 

 

State closes ocean sport salmon season, Coos Bay World Link, posted 8/14/08

 

Fishing in a crowd can be fun, Times-Standard, posted 8/11/08. "The Klamath River is predicted to be full of salmon this fall." (KBC NOTE: wait, the Klamath River Tribes and environmentalists said the dams are causing the salmon to go "extinct", the dams are "genocide" for the tribes, thus the dams must be destroyed.)

 

Salmon catch eased on two rivers (Klamath and Trinity), SacBee, posted 7/28/08. "The action is possible because fish runs on those rivers are strong this year."

Klamath allocation of chinook looks good, Triplicate 7/11/08. "Larry Hanson, a senior biologist with California Department of Fish and Game, speaking from his office in Redding. 'This is the second-largest (fishing) allocation on the Klamath in the last 30 years....The commission has approved a catch allotment of 22,500 fall chinook salmon, and 11,250 of those would go to sport anglers in the Klamath below Weitchipec. The Klamath above Weitchipec is allowed about 3,800 salmon, and the upper and lower segments of the Trinity River will each get about 3,700 fish. The tribal allocation will be 27,000 salmon.' " KBC NOTE: Huh? According to 26 groups supporting downsizing ag and dam removal, including tribal leaders, enviros, and gov't agencies, the dams and algae and farmers and commercial fishermen have killed most all the fish on the Klamath, driving them to extinction. What's this "2nd largest fishing allocation" all about?????

 

Oregon approves $1 million allocation to help fishermen, Daily Astorian, posted 6/30/08

 

Governors of California, Oregon and Washington Urge President Bush to Provide Critical Funding to Fishing Families and Businesses, posted 6/27/08, Letter by Governors to President Bush.

 

Feedback: BiOp Challenge And Best Available Science, CB Bulletin 6/27/08. "So the radical environmental groups are suing once again to prevent the Federal dam operators from using the best available science to protect the Columbia River salmon. Between them and Judge Redden, they are the second most deadly force to the salmon in the region. Only the predacious birds, fish, seals, and sea lions kill more juvenile salmon each year."

 

Tribes Start Commercial Chinook, Steelhead Fishery And Direct Sales To Public, Columbia Basin Bulletin 6/20/08. "Sales are cash only."

 

Salmon Fishing Opens On Upper Salmon River First Time In 30 Years, CB Bulletin 6/20/08

 

Klamath allocation of chinook looks good, Triplicate 7/11/08. "Larry Hanson, a senior biologist with California Department of Fish and Game, speaking from his office in Redding. 'This is the second-largest (fishing) allocation on the Klamath in the last 30 years....The commission has approved a catch allotment of 22,500 fall chinook salmon, and 11,250 of those would go to sport anglers in the Klamath below Weitchipec. The Klamath above Weitchipec is allowed about 3,800 salmon, and the upper and lower segments of the Trinity River will each get about 3,700 fish. The tribal allocation will be 27,000 salmon.' " KBC NOTE: Huh? According to 26 groups supporting downsizing ag and dam removal, including tribal leaders, enviros, and gov't agencies, the dams and algae and farmers and commercial fishermen have killed most all the fish on the Klamath, driving them to extinction. What's this "2nd largest fishing allocation" all about?????

 

Lawmakers from Western states protest proposed $70 million cut, H&N, 6/12/08.(Farm Bill $ for fishermen)


NOAA plans to implement annual catch limits to stem overfishing, Eureka Reporter, posted to KBC 6/9/08

 

County decides to postpone ramp repair, May 31, 2008 by Nicholas Grube, Daily Triplicate: "They are actually looking forward to this season to get out of debt," Crandall said of some Klamath area business owners. "They've been handed a tremendous opportunity that nobody else in California has—fish, they got fish."

 

ODFW to blame for salmon decline, Myrtle Point , posted to KBC 5/31/08, Coos Bay World. "Now they are ... starting at 1 million in 1996 trickling down to 640,00 this past year. You could have at least 1 million smolt every year. Now ODFW wants 200,000 of these smolts ventral fin clipped. This is proven to equate a 20-percent morality rate. These people do not seem to care how many of the fish are killed."

 

New BiOp Based On Best Science And Better Collaboration, Say Feds, NW Fishletter, posted to KBC 5/30/08

Low West Coast salmon returns; why the variations, CB Bulletin, posted to KBC 5/20/08. "In 2005 a southward shift in the jet stream, delayed favorable winds and upwelling for the California Current, which normally begins in spring. The winds instead arrived in mid-July, causing high surface water temperatures and very low nutrient production within the nearshore marine ecosystem."

Salmon Population Declines In California, West Coast, Science Daily, posted to KBC 5/20/08. "Both hatchery and naturally produced fish have been negatively affected, and returns of coastal stocks in Oregon, in the Columbia River, and in British Columbia were all low in 2007. The decline seems to be a coastwide phenomenon, probably related to ocean conditions."

Salmon closure hits Winchester Bay hard, Oregonian, posted to KBC 5/13/08

 

Out-of-court agreement reached in sea lion case, posted 5/7/08. "The Humane Society of the United States has reached agreement with state and federal governments that blocks killing or permanent removal of sea lions in the Columbia River until early 2009."

Pinniped numbers below Bonneville hit new record; reported sightings above dam, CB Bulletin, posted 5/7/08. "From Jan. 11 through April 20 researchers have seen sea lions consume 1,791 chinook and 258 steelhead, with the peaks of the upriver run likely yet to arrive. Another 541 unidentified fish have been taken below the dam."

Oregon, Washington get nod to kill sea lions at Bonneville Dam, Oregonian, posted to KBC 3/20/08. "Federal fisheries managers are giving the go-ahead today for Oregon and Washington officials to trap and, if necessary, kill sea lions that wolf down thousands of salmon at Bonneville Dam every year."

 

Feds' fish aid plans pending; Headlight-Herald Staff 5/6/08. "If the $500,000 in aid to be distributed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office didn't sound like much to Oregon salmon fishers who have been left without a season, the figure $45 million may be more appealing."

 

Commerce Secretary Declares West Coast Fishery Failure; Opens Door for Disaster Relief. May 02, 2008, Columbia Basin FWS Bulletin

 

Salmon closure worst in history, H&N 5/2/08. "Spain, who helped negotiate the proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, said the West Coast closure is not related to ongoing fisheries problems in the Klamath River Basin." (KBC NOTE: This article quotes Glen Spain, PCFFA spokesman and Eugene attorney. Spain has initiated numerous lawsuits against Klamath irrigators...)

 

Council OKs salmon fishing on Klamath; DFG vote next, The Record-Stockton, 4/30/08. "But Chinook salmon fishing on the Klamath River will be open as usual, with a larger than normal quota (22,500 fish) allocated for the 2008 season. The Klamath Tribal allocation is 27,000 fish." (KBC NOTE: Fishing in the Pacific Ocean is shut down this season decimating the fishing industry and economies, Tribes want the Klamath dams out because they say it is causing the fish to go extinct, and the fish run on the Klamath is exceptional...?)
Foes of dams to confront Buffet again, Times-Standard posted 4/30/08
Salmon ban takes toll in Fort Bragg, Modesto Bee, posted 4/30/08

 

Looters Limit Out on BPA Salmon Dollars, James Buchal, posted to KBC 4/30/08
 

ODFW to Study Reintroduction of Salmon into Upper Klamath Basin, Columbia Basin Bulletin 4/18/08

 

Judge: harm to salmon justifies Columbia River sea lion removal, 4/18/07, Columbia Basin Bulletin.

 

Schwarzenegger commended for quick response to fisheries closure, Eureka Reporter, posted to KBC 4/13/08. (KBC Question for anyone who knows: Is any money going to the PEOPLE and communities being devastated by the closure, or is it only going to "restoration projects?")

 

ODFW announces limited ocean coho salmon season, ODFW, posted to KBC 4/13/08

 

Toxins found in Klamath fish, Study commissioned by (Karuk) tribe on river finds risk to public health, H&N, posted to KBC 4/13/08. Craig Tucker, Karuk spokesman, was previously activist with 'Friends of the River', an international dam removal group, and presently 'Riverkeeper.' Karuks along with Bobby Kennedy, President of Waterkeepers, filed a lawsuit against PacifiCorp to get the dams removed because of algae. A quote from Tucker 7/4/07: "It would be worth better understanding what they could to address the algae problem. But note that our push for dam removal comes with or without the algae as the dams remain a barrier to the recovery of salmon even if the human health threat of the toxic algae blooms were addressed." S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D., Klamath Campaign Coordinator, Karuk Tribe of California

Chinook season closed, The World Link, posted 4/13/08

KBC NOTE: Sea lions each kill several salmon per day. Sea lions have an unlimited salmon season.

Sea lion removals postponed to await looming court decisions, CBB, posted 4/13/08. "Last year an estimated 80 California sea lions made the 145-mile quest to the dam. Observers documented a sea lion "take" of 4.2 percent of the salmonid run in the waters immediately below the dam. Those fish include five salmon and steelhead stocks that are listed under the Endangered Species Act."
Followed by, Hazing not reducing sea lions' salmon catch."California sea lions were the primary predator of adult salmonids in the Bonneville Dam tailrace, accounting for 99.0 percent of the 8,946 observed adult salmonid catches over the recent three-year period, and 99.8 percent of the 4,957 observed chinook salmon catches...White sturgeon was the most commonly observed prey item for Steller sea lions, which made 97.8 percent of the 626 observed sturgeon catches since 2002."

Salmon fishing closure prompts Schwarzenegger to declare emergency, Sacramento Bee, posted 4/13/08

Alaska Cuts Chinook Quota Nearly 50 Percent, NW Fishletter #245, posted April 13, 2008. " it is widely recognized that unfavorable ocean conditions in 2005 and 2006 likely were a significant cause of the poor survival of chinook in the early part of their four- to five-year life-cycle, Some of these ocean conditions have moderated substantially and appear to be returning to a status more favorable to salmon populations."

Dr. Moyle, cited in Dan Bacher's article, "Peter Moyle's Commentary on Central Valley Chinook Salmon Decline" would like us all to believe that ocean conditions play a small role in today's salmon decline, note and links by Joseph Greene, EPA retired scientist, posted 4/13/08
Peter Moyle's Commentary on Central Valley Chinook Salmon Decline, Indy Bay, posted to KBC 4/13/08
2008 salmon forecast predicts 18th largest harvest since 1960, Alaska Journal of Commerce, posted 4/13/08."The total harvest is expected to include 672,000 Chinook salmon, 47.1 million sockeye salmon, 4.4 million coho salmon, 66 million pink salmon and 18.7 million chum."
Climate, Uncertainty and the Pacific Salmon Treaty: Insights on the Harvest Management Game, Miller et al, posted 4/13/08

 

Kruse: Salmon Run failures in 1997-1998, A link to Anamalous Ocean Conditions, posted to KBC 4/13/08

 

Agreements propose $980.5 million for projects; support for feds' salmon strategy, CBB, posted 4/13/08

 

Ocean conditions: do Columbia and Alaska chinook go to the same place? posted April 13, 2008, Columbia Basin Bulletin. "Blame for declining runs of Pacific Northwest salmon has been cast broadly: habitat loss from logging and development, an abundance of predatory sea lions, power-generating dams, terns and other coastal birds that prey on juvenile fish, and over-fishing by commercial and sport fishermen. But no factor is more critical to salmon prosperity than ocean conditions, experts say..."

 

Researchers hope to continue "River of Origin" salmon study, CBB, posted 4/13/08

Off the hook: Salmon fishing ban OK’d, Central Valley Business Times 4/10/08

Salmon fleets seek political help, The World, Coos Bay 4/10/08

Don’t take away my fishing hole, H&N 4/1/08. "If algae in the Klamath River is a problem caused by the PacifiCorp dam system, then please explain the source of the algae blooms in Lake of the Woods, Fish Lake, Hyatt Lake, and all the other fishing sources in the area."

$48 million requested for Basin, Rep. Greg Walden asks for money to research salmon disease in the Klamath River, projects at OIT, H&N 4/1/07
 

Klamath could be bright spot in a dark salmon fishing year, Times-Standard, 3/30/08.

 

The formula for allotting salmon, The Daily Triplicate 3/29/08

 

Oregon, Washington get nod to kill sea lions at Bonneville Dam, Oregonian, posted to KBC 3/20/08

 

Proposal calls for no Chinook season in OR/CAL, Coos Bay World Link, posted 3/16/08, followed by: Options set for salmon season

Low California salmon runs prompt coastal fishing closures, CB Bulletin, posted to KBC 3/16/08

Critical salmon situation calls for creativity, The World Link 3/16/08

What's happening in the ocean affects salmon the most, Modesto Bee, posted to KBC 3/11/08