Low Salmon Stocks: Pacific Salmon Wars

I thought you would have some thoughts on this one Anthony. I also have trouble fishing for salmon in the Yukon. I cant speak on the Dawson Yukon River Chinook fishery becuase I have no experience with it, however, for the Alsek Tatshenshini salmon, I just feel like those salmon have worked so hard to get there that I could not possibly harvest them at this point. Oddly enough, I dont seem to have such an ethical problem when they are fresh from the ocean.

I also worry that besides the potential negative effects like sea lice on wild stock, the influence of fish farming placates mainstream consumers into thinking there are no issues with salmon stocks. While wild stocks are in decline, there is still an abundance of farmed fish showing up in stores and restaurants. Consumers are less likely to care about the plight of wild salmon.

Hot Potato:

I have been in the north going on 10 years now and have been fishing Salmon in Haines for about nine. Even in my short span here I agree with the high, dirty water theory as a result of climate change. It seems it was different even five years ago. The water coming off rivers like the Chilkat were clear more frequently.

To change the subject a bit, another thing that pisses me off is when some recreational/sport anglers resort to snagging fish when the water gets dirty. I have seen this numerous times in recent years on the Chilkat when anglers know the Coho cant see the lures to take it. At some point, usually the mid-point of the trip when they fear the freezer will sit empty, the psychology changes and snagging become acceptable (although still illegal). I have witnessed groups of anglers on a river fight a Coho, pulling them in by dorsal, tail, belly, etc.. coming in sideways. All it would take is a conservation officer to #1 witness it or #2 to have a look at the catch with not a mark on its mouth but a big hook gash on its belly. Another rant…why have I fished in Haines for nine years, sometimes three-four times a year and my license or catch has never been checked!

Id highly recommend a book I just finished called The Thousand Year Run. It is written by a geophysicist who has specialized in river geomorphology of the Pacific Northwest. It was through this perspective that he initially became interested in the plight of Pacific Salmon. But the book actually starts with providing a historical perspective on what happened to salmon stocks in Europe hundreds of years ago, then on the east coast of N. America, and what is happening now in the Northwest. Not surprisingly, in every one of these cases, the same factors have been ignored and history repeated. What is happening in the Pacific Northwest is nothing new, and there is no more research that needs to be done to better understand how to conserve wild salmon. They understood what salmon needed to remain healthy 500 years ago in Europe (and passed conservation laws accordingly - which were undermined, ignored and poorly enforced, just as they are today), and obviously First Nations cultures have understood all along what salmon require.

It isnt just overharvesting through commercial fishing - its also habitat degradation through polution and irresponsible logging practices, habitat alteration through dredging and straightening stream beds, and dams which have disregarded proper avenues for fish passage, many of which are dams that arent really even needed anymore, but are stubbornly clung to by industry interests who arent willing to adapt. In addition, the fisheries approach of thinking its possible to overcome having to change any of the factors outlined above by simply pumping out millions of hatchery salmon has turned into a huge waste of money with little difference in return rates.

The bottom line is - we know what needs to happen, but just as salmon dont limit themselves to particular countries, they also dont conform to the way we divide our management of all the various factors that are involved in keeping them healthy, and getting all of these different agencies and interests, and their greedy agendas, to agree has proved insurmountable. I think that only be reorganizing how we manage salmon habitat - by taking a unified watershed approach, where one agency oversees protection of all of these factors, with the real authority to do so, will anything change.