Removing Commerical Gillnets

[Seefood Man]

As some of you know the Columbia River is still gill-netted by a few (approximately 150 active) commercial netters. As I understand it, the Florida sportsmen eliminated the indiscriminate commercial netting in Florida. I am very involved in getting the commercial off the river, the Indians are there by treaty rights. I would like some of your personal experiences of the fight you fought, how your sports-fishing has improved, and how has the economy of sport-fishing communities flourished or declined since their removal.
In addition; how did the Florida commercial netters adapt to the change?
I am a long time member of a powerful web-site www.ifish.net based in Oregon. This is a HOT issue with us and would like to share your first hand experiences, good, bad and the ugly, and post with them on ifish.net.
For reason of validation would you please include your name, city and state.
Thank You
Sincerely Yours
Pete Grace, AKA Seefood Man
Woodland, WA

[Seefood Man]

Any ideas folks? As I understand it Florida Sportfishing Magazine provided the media avenue for the fight,,,any biters?

[CanCanCase]

As an Alaskan, I can't say that gillnets are inherently bad or good. With proper management, I think the gillnet fleet here has done just fine over the past 50-100 years. I even sport fish around them during the weekly openings, and haven't had a problem in 34 years. Just to play devil's-advocate, how are the gill nets on the Columbia "indiscriminate"? To remove "indiscriminate" netting from Florida waters, might not be the same thing as removing gill nets from the Columbia...

The problem with so-called "indiscriminate" netting isn't really with gill nets. Seines and Trawls don't discriminate what sorts of fish (and other things) they catch. Gill nets do. Our commercial fishermen have HUGE problems when the average size of a 3-ocean fish changes, or regulations allow taking 2-ocean fish instead of 3 or 4-ocean salmon... it usually means whole new nets, with a different mesh size, etc. A given (and legally prescribed) mesh size will let anything smaller than the target through while anything larger than the target will bounce right off and continue on their way.

If, on the other hand, you did want to explore a reasonable compromise, my suggestion would be to take a good long read of the Magnussen-Stevens Fisheries Management Act, and start writing the Sec. of Commerce about the content of the area's Fishery Management Plan (you DO have an FMP in effect, don't you?) Mag-Stevens requires that any FMP implemented by the secretary allow a "fair and equitable" distribution of fishing rights, so if the indians get theirs by treaty, whatever is left should be distributed in a fair and equitable manner.

Now might not be the best time to fight these fights either... One of fishing's biggest allies (both sport and commercial) just got selected as the Republican Party's VP candidate... The Alaska Governor holds many seats on the various fisheries management councils in the North Pacific region, and she's a bit busy at the moment!

-Case

[Bullshipper]

I used to plant up to 5 million smolts a year into oregon waters from my fish hatchery and believe that there is a cost effective way to provide enough fish for everyone, instad of making everyone cut back.

[CanCanCase]

I used to plant up to 5 million smolts a year into oregon waters from my fish hatchery and believe that there is a cost effective way to provide enough fish for everyone, instad of making everyone cut back.

I'll agree with that... the Alaska hatchery programs are model example. Even ol' "Douglas Island Pink And Chum" (AKA: DIPAC) has been producing coho and king salmon for years now, and there are plenty of both varieties around now.

Where the ComFish and SportFish sectors don't get along here in AK has to do with either side feeling "entitled" to a given percentage of the take, or when one group reasons that they should be "allowed to grow at historical rates"... When demand for a given variety of fish increases then logically the fishing effort or the supply must also increase.

-Case