Sushihunter
Active Member
Just got this in my email. I know Darrell Ticehurst - he is one of the leading fishermen from California, and has spent a bit of time in Tahsis chasing Salmon & Halibut.
- Jim Pook
PFMC meeting on March 8
Fellow Coastsiders,
Salmon season this year? Maybe! We are going to have to fight for it! There are plenty of fish for a recreational season, so don’t believe what you read in the newspapers. We have a right to a season and the science says that a season is in accord with the conservation objectives. But there are many who don’t want us to fish and we have to let them know that the facts and the science support having a sport season. That means getting out and attending the PFMC meeting and letting them know that we are here and that we will fight to get it.
When the science said that there were not enough fish because the Central Valley Fall Chinook had declined recreational anglers did the right thing and supported sitting on the beach. But the good news is that last year’s jack count was significantly better than the prior two years – and that bodes well for the adult return this year – as jacks are the primary forecasting factor in the model for the subsequent year. In fact the PFMC is projecting that there will be ample fish to support a salmon season this year. It may not be a great year, but one in which we should have an opportunity to pursue these fish.
Here are the facts: the model used to predict salmon returns correctly predicted the downturn in 2007 with 58,000 fish, and correctly predicted that 2008 would fall short at 121,000 fish. Now this same model predicts 245,000 adult salmon returning this year, well above the conservation objective of 122,000 needed to insure a healthy run. That model says we can fish, but there is a movement to shut us down anyway.
You must let the decision makers at the PFMC know that you want the opportunity to fish this year in accordance with the data and the approved procedures before the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Preliminary options will be created at the March PFMC meeting in Sacramento. If you want a season then we need you to testify in favor of a recreational season this year.
The critical day will be Monday, March 8 at the Doubletree Hotel Sacramento, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, CA. Salmon will be the only item on the agenda that day, and the most critical item is G.4: Identification of Management Objectives and Preliminary Definition of 2010 Salmon Management Options (the last item of the day). Public testimony will be taken with each agenda item, but this critical item is likely to be mid afternoon. Fill out a speaker’s card and speak your mind.
Talking points include:
• The jack counts have increased for the last three years in a row and have now returned to a level that predicts more than twice the level of adult abundance needed for a California ocean salmon season.
o 2007 – 1904 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 58,000 adults
o 2008 – 4023 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 121,000 adults
o 2009 – 9216 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 245,000 adults – well above the 122,000 conservation objective.
• The Council has documented and approved processes in place that must be followed – and with these processes using last year’s jack counts there will be adequate fish to support a season for ocean fishermen.
• Recreational fishermen have been idle the last two years, without any compensation for not fishing; and the business that we support, have suffered along with us.
• Salmon fishermen were not the cause of the prior declines – this is not a case of overfishing. Even the National Marine Fisheries Service places both the immediate and underlying causes on factors other than fishermen. We have paid the price for others – it is time to correct the long term issues associated with lack of habitat, bad water management, and outdated hatchery operations. These must be addressed if we are going to restore stability to our salmon fishery.
• Tell your story – why you love to fish, what you have missed, how much money you did not spend (ie contribute to the economy) because you did not have a salmon season the last two years.
SO IF YOU WANT A SALMON SEASON THIS YEAR, SHOW UP AT THE PFMC MEETING ON MARCH 8 IN SACRAMENTO AND TELL THEM SO.
We continue to battle, but it is worth the fight,
Darrell Ticehurst
Chairman (My new title, but the pay stays the same!)
Note: please do not reply to this email, any questions or comments should be directed to the general page on the Coastside Fishing Club website at http://www.coastsidefishingclub.com
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
- Jim Pook
PFMC meeting on March 8
Fellow Coastsiders,
Salmon season this year? Maybe! We are going to have to fight for it! There are plenty of fish for a recreational season, so don’t believe what you read in the newspapers. We have a right to a season and the science says that a season is in accord with the conservation objectives. But there are many who don’t want us to fish and we have to let them know that the facts and the science support having a sport season. That means getting out and attending the PFMC meeting and letting them know that we are here and that we will fight to get it.
When the science said that there were not enough fish because the Central Valley Fall Chinook had declined recreational anglers did the right thing and supported sitting on the beach. But the good news is that last year’s jack count was significantly better than the prior two years – and that bodes well for the adult return this year – as jacks are the primary forecasting factor in the model for the subsequent year. In fact the PFMC is projecting that there will be ample fish to support a salmon season this year. It may not be a great year, but one in which we should have an opportunity to pursue these fish.
Here are the facts: the model used to predict salmon returns correctly predicted the downturn in 2007 with 58,000 fish, and correctly predicted that 2008 would fall short at 121,000 fish. Now this same model predicts 245,000 adult salmon returning this year, well above the conservation objective of 122,000 needed to insure a healthy run. That model says we can fish, but there is a movement to shut us down anyway.
You must let the decision makers at the PFMC know that you want the opportunity to fish this year in accordance with the data and the approved procedures before the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Preliminary options will be created at the March PFMC meeting in Sacramento. If you want a season then we need you to testify in favor of a recreational season this year.
The critical day will be Monday, March 8 at the Doubletree Hotel Sacramento, 2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, CA. Salmon will be the only item on the agenda that day, and the most critical item is G.4: Identification of Management Objectives and Preliminary Definition of 2010 Salmon Management Options (the last item of the day). Public testimony will be taken with each agenda item, but this critical item is likely to be mid afternoon. Fill out a speaker’s card and speak your mind.
Talking points include:
• The jack counts have increased for the last three years in a row and have now returned to a level that predicts more than twice the level of adult abundance needed for a California ocean salmon season.
o 2007 – 1904 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 58,000 adults
o 2008 – 4023 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 121,000 adults
o 2009 – 9216 combined hatchery and natural jacks, predicts 245,000 adults – well above the 122,000 conservation objective.
• The Council has documented and approved processes in place that must be followed – and with these processes using last year’s jack counts there will be adequate fish to support a season for ocean fishermen.
• Recreational fishermen have been idle the last two years, without any compensation for not fishing; and the business that we support, have suffered along with us.
• Salmon fishermen were not the cause of the prior declines – this is not a case of overfishing. Even the National Marine Fisheries Service places both the immediate and underlying causes on factors other than fishermen. We have paid the price for others – it is time to correct the long term issues associated with lack of habitat, bad water management, and outdated hatchery operations. These must be addressed if we are going to restore stability to our salmon fishery.
• Tell your story – why you love to fish, what you have missed, how much money you did not spend (ie contribute to the economy) because you did not have a salmon season the last two years.
SO IF YOU WANT A SALMON SEASON THIS YEAR, SHOW UP AT THE PFMC MEETING ON MARCH 8 IN SACRAMENTO AND TELL THEM SO.
We continue to battle, but it is worth the fight,
Darrell Ticehurst
Chairman (My new title, but the pay stays the same!)
Note: please do not reply to this email, any questions or comments should be directed to the general page on the Coastside Fishing Club website at http://www.coastsidefishingclub.com
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
