Part of the Problem

We all know what is at stake as far as our wild cold water fisheries go. The future of their existence is in the balance. I must ask why there is not the same urgency among the rank and file anglers and why are these anglers so resistant to tackling the tough issues of wild salmonids.
There is bound to be a certain percentage that really do not care what the origin is of their catch...they just want fish to kill and take home. The sports fishermen that are unsure and on the fence is where we need to concentrate our efforts with education and our own example. I think that some in conservation groups have alienated those curious and undecided anglers with our over pretentious attitudes. I have done this myself and while I feel my anger over the ignorant is justified I am wondering if I am just filling the ranks of the anti-science, anti-wild fish numbers.
I am not alone!
Even amongst ourselves there seem to be an unspoken pecking order that comes off as aloof and arrogant. I've seen it and experienced it.
I won't mention names but if this arrogant and elitist behavior exists even among ourselves how do those who are not actively involved in wild salmon, trout and steelhead issues view us?
Most of us are fly fishermen. We are viewed as thinking our "shit don't stink" We get accused of wanting to make rivers our own little fly fishing and catch and release Shangri-La. These people just cannot get past that and our message of why wild salmonids are so important is lost because they perceive us as acting superior. How much worse is it when we even act like that among ourselves?
It cannot be said enough about the daunting issues we face as we try to preserve what remnant of wild and endangered salmonid populations there are left but maybe our rhetoric goes unheard because we tend to come off as a bunch of wild fish hugging assholes.

Wild Steelhead Pictorial

Here are some pictures of beautiful wild steelhead that I've collected through the years.
The steelhead trout is, at least to me, the fish that dreams are made out of. It must be much the same feeling that Atlantic salmon afly fishermen feel about the legendary salmo salar
The importance of protecting these ocean going rainbow trout is paramount to the future of our angling heritage here in the Pacific northwest.Please do all you can to help these and other wild salmonids.
Anyway here is some eye candy for you steelhead junkies.

Photo Courtesy of Jad Donaldson


This fish was taken by me on the Wilson River in 2005




Joel La Follette and his legendary British Columbia steelhead


Photo courtesy of Bob Meiser of Meiser rods


                        Mike Hoffman's very first steelhead

         Winter Steelead caught by John Newbury                            

My 18.6 Wilson River native caught while drift fishing 2013

 

Vintage Lee Wulff

The Bamboo Rides in the Cab and other Musings

So it was off to the Deschutes for my first visit of the year on Wednesday last. So what if the river was running at 6500 cfs. So what if I had to go through The Dalles to get to Maupin since there was still snow on the Government Camp summit and so what if gas is nearly $4 a gallon....I was going.The Columbia Gorge continues to be awe inspiring along I-84 and I have often looked at the palisades along the river and think of how it has remained virtually unchanged. I imagine Lewis and Clark's Corp of Discovery must have marvelled at the Columbia Gorge as they passed on their way to the Pacific ocean over 200 years ago.
The hillsides along the highway from The Dalles to Maupin were green and lush from the almost constant rain and even though I much prefer the usual route I take to get to the Deschutes this route had it's own charm. When I arrived at the Deschutes there was just a hint of the summer to come in the air. The smell of sage and the occasional blue winged olive greeted me as I inspected the olive green water of the river. I was somewhat disappointed in the height and color of the river but I was still very pleased to be there.
I fished in all of my usual spots with only a few takes for my efforts but it didn't really care that much. I had just finished a very wet and truncated winter steelhead season so the change of pace was much looked forward to.
I think that maybe an angler has gained some degree of maturity when he can visit a river and not be discouraged but the lack of angling success. I guess that in my 38 years of fishing for trout,salmon and steelhead here in the northwest I would hope to have matured enough in my outlook of this passion called fly fishing to appreciate the river and it's surroundings.
I took along my most prized fly rod on this trip. It's a bamboo rod that I actually participated in the construction and I never let it ride in the bed of my truck, it always rides in the cab. It gets lovingly wiped down with a micro-fleece towel and if the weather if damp, hung on a special rack to dry for a few days.
Like clockwork the afternoon wind came blowing up the canyon but this is the Deschutes after all and the wind is just a part of this river and it's canyon.
To me the Deschutes is like a dangerous mistress that you are so attracted to that you just keep coming back. It's an addiction to this river that there is no cure for and to be away from it for a few months of winter is much like a tortuous withdrawal.
I will always come back to the Deschutes as long as I am physically able to because I love it and like that mistress that I mentioned earlier I just cannot stay away.
If gas goes up to $5 a gallon I will still come back because the bond is just that strong and my bamboo rod will ride along beside me in the front seat where it should be.

Harvest Mentality Revisited

This was originally posted a few years ago and while it may seem like I am just being lazy or cannot think of anything to complain about I just felt this needs to be said again.
I have never claimed to have the answers and I know many of you reading this are a lot smarter than me but I do know this much.
We have got to get serious about conservation and if it means sacrificing to do it then it's pretty simple....do it! You might have to give up a days fishing once in awhile to be involved but you can never do anything so important as far as conservation goes than getting involved even in a small way. Know this though friends and if ever there was anything of use that I have written here then hopefully this is one of those rare items.

Posting on an internet forum has never, ever saved one wild salmon,steelhead or trout...not once. I've would be hypocritical to rant on here if I didn't put some efforts with my time and meager financial resources.

I have zero desire to make any money on this blog and besides who would pay me?
There are some public proposals that will be discussed in the coming months that put wild salmon, steelhead and trout in jeopardy. Please take a look at these proposals when they are posted on ODFW's website.
Please go to meeting and be a voice for wild fish. Please write and make the ODFW commissioners aware of how you feel. Call you legislator and make his life miserable with your complaints if you feel strongly about something.
I would never ask anything of anyone without being willing to do the same myself because that would be the height of hypocrisy but I feel it's just that important....thanks for reading

When I first started "The Quiet Pool" almost 5  years ago what I had in mind was sharing my thoughts on fly fishing, politics and conservation. I've linked some interesting articles along the way and hopefully those who have come here have enjoyed what I've shared here. I've ditched the politics for the most part but the fervor for wild salmonids remains.

I feel compelled to focus on the plight of wild fish and their habitat as I see a general malaise towards them. The prevailing sentiment throughout the north west fishing scene seems to be "I gotta get mine" and that is truly sad.Many people think that we have this bottomless population of fish to harvest and that they will always be there. They think that it's their right and the states obligation to provide fish, specifically salmonid species, for them to kill. In some coastal regions the harvest mentality is such that endangered wild fish are of little importance because they cannot be killed. Take the plight of the coastal cutthroat trout for instance. These last remaining coastal wild trout are endangered but those of the harvest mentality want to kill two a day with the minimum of eight inches.You have to wonder what people are thinking don't you? Listen folks by all means kill as many hatchery fish as possible! These are the fish you want to harvest because you are indeed doing wild fish a favor by killing them. Releasing hatchery fish back into the river is irresponsible and just plain dumb but some get the warm fuzzies by doing this....go figure!

I wish I could write lofty and poetic prose on the wonders of fly fishing but as I've written before I feel our remaining wild populations of steelhead, salmon and trout are faced with a very real danger. You've heard the old saying "I've seen the enemy and he is us" haven't you? With the general indifference that is more and more becoming the norm I feel it's my obligation to speak out in whatever way I can.

Are People Really This Selfish Or Are They Just Stupid?

The news that Native Fish Society has sent notice of it's intent to sue Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA and others because of the situation concerning the Sandy river has brought out all kinds of opinions on the internet.
I shake my head in disbelief at the  utter stupidity of some and the selfishness of others. The old cliche of fly fishing elitists has surface yet again and while some of us fly fishers can indeed come off that way in other circumstances but this situation is different.
This is not a fly fishing versus gear fishing fight it's all about saving a population of wild winter steelhead and forcing a state agency to live by the law.
For your amusement I have selected a few of the more jaw dropping statements by "sports" fishermen

*I have not corrected any spelling in these quotes

- NFS solicits fisherman to promote preservation by spreading fear and absolute distortion of the facts. This lawsuit is all about differences in ethics, not science....
- I love to catch fish, if we put the screws to the hatchery program and they have to stop what does that leave... oh thats right an ESA species and can I catch those... umm no
-  I dont know about the group but if they are fly guys maybe they are mad do to not catching any fish while I am slaying them on spinners all day long
- NFS preys upon ethical values such as catch & release and spreads its disallusions that wild fish can simply be restored by shutting down hatcheries....
- The track record of groups like the NFS speaks for itself - you can claim it's not a fly vs gear/bait move - but it's smoke & mirrors, as their next most likely step is to push for fly only regs to go along with C&R only.
- Native Fish Society is enemy #1 for sport fisherman!
- I suggest for all of you that are not familiar with the composition of NFS membership, google the blogs; "The Quiet Pool" (Thanks for the public plug Ty) OR "Whitefishcantjump"   These guys only wish is to have these rivers to themselves so the can swing flies by themselves.

That is just a few of the better ones and while it is funny it is also disturbing that supposed sportsmen think this way. Are they stupid? When it comes to facts and an understanding of what is going on then I would have to say yes they are absolutely stupid when it comes to wild vs hatchery matters.
Are they selfish? Without a doubt! They are are only concerned about how many fish they can catch and kill.
This is the exact reason why I have never gotten involved in any issues others than wild salmonids conservation. I could not care less if these so called sports fishermen get more salmon and why I think they are little better than the gill netters they claim to despise.
I am not saying that all gear fishermen are this ignorant or selfish...far from it because I know many that care about our wild salmon, trout and steelhead populations as much or more than many fly fishermen.
This is all a symptom of a much bigger illness. Our rivers and our wild fish have been mismanaged to near extinction by ODFW and other state and federal agencies.
I know many of these arm chair biologists but I never see any of them at any meeting where allocation is not the topic. They hide behind their computer keyboards and mouth off while never getting involved.








 

Native Fish Society Serves Notice

Native Fish Society along with Pacific Rivers Council served 60 day notice of their intent to sue ODFW and others for violation of the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
The litigation intent and other pertinent information can be found by clicking on this link.  Sandy River Litigation

Frankenfish is Coming To A Supermarket Near You?

Remember that old TV series "The 6 Million Dollar Man"?   Oscar Goldman says "We have the capability to make the worlds first Bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster."
Well apparently someone thinks they can build a better and BIGGER salmon and the consequences of these fish could be disastrous
Check out this article from the New York Times   Frankenfish Phobia

Salmon People

I read an article on the famous Boldt decision of 1970 which gave seven western native American tribes the right to harvest 50% of the Columbia river salmon.
After years of being basically kicked to the curb by the white man this ruling, which was subsequently upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court, the tribes were getting some portion of what was theirs for centuries before the white man came west.
Some may argue that this is not right and that what was done by our trespassing forefathers of a hundred years ago is not our fault. I would simply say how can a huge injustice ever be adequately repaid. The native Americans of centuries ago relied on the returning salmon for every aspect of life. The salmon were their ancient heritage and in every way as important to them as the bison was to the plains tribes.
Their whole social structure revolved around the salmon along with their spiritual beliefs. To say that they were not entitled to what Federal Judge George Boldt ruled is either selfish, greedy or just ignorant. In my opinion the injustices that were inflicted upon the native American tribes throughout North America can never really be fully repaid or understood by the white man as to the magnitude of the wrong done.
Of course the Boldt decision is not without it's flaws. A very large one is the allocation process, as far as who gets what, has to rely on fishery biologists estimating what the future runs will be. This process has proved to be a failure in these recent lean years as the estimations of run sizes has fallen flat on it's face once again in 2011. However it is what it is and until something better comes along it's the best way.... I guess.
That being said we sports anglers are not owed fish to catch. The non-tribal commercial netters, whose greed in the past is one of the main reason we are where we are in the first place, are not just automatically entitled the salmon.
With hydro-electric dams, spawning habitat degradation and poor hatchery processes we all own some of the blame. Whether it be our generation or the generations of our fathers we basically ripped off the tribes and got greedy. The notion that the fish will always return in the huge numbers they once did is just plain stupid and to fight like dogs for the scraps of what is left is a very disturbing commentary on where we are as a civilized people.
Yes the tribes deserve what they got with the Boldt decision and a whole lot more as far as I am concerned.
I like going to Sherars Falls on the Deschutes to watch the people of the Warm Springs tribe net returning salmon and steelhead. With impossibly long handled nets these graceful fishermen try to intercept the salmon that are held up in the violent water beneath the falls.
They put up with the white tourists that stop along the road and snap their pictures and who cannot begin to understand the symbolism of what is taking place.
I deeply admire these people in that they have stubbornly held onto the ancient traditions of their ancestors despite losing nearly everything due to the encroachment of our ancestors.
I understand their mistrust of the society who took their land and their salmon. They did not invite us here and that makes us invaders.
Along with the theft of their land we also introduced disease and alcohol to them.
So if you ever get the chance to observe this fishing ritual at Sherars Falls take a moment to realize all these proud and noble people lost and how, even in this day and age, tenaciously they cling to what is left of their ancient heritage.

Put Your Faith in ODFW

Well I'm kidding of course because once again the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has dropped the ball on estimating returns on Columbia River Spring Chinook.
Even Bill Monroe of the Oregonian and ODFW's de-facto cheerleaders has touted the big returns years after year.
Well guess what folks. Someone forgot to tell the fish! Once again ODFW has fumbled and once again gullible spring salmon have been gypped as the Columbia is set to close on April 4th.
ODFW bases it's run predictions on previous year jack returns so I am wondering if what they are counting?
Shad maybe?
Once again commercial fishing has duped ODFW because they are smarter and more united but even this year they are cut short.
Do I feel sorry for the cheated sports guys? Not a bit! Too many times these anglers in organizations like CCA and Northwest Steelheaders have put their own selfishness above what for is best the fish. They deserve the "screwing" that ODFW hands to them every year.
What really irks me is they try to make the native American tribes that harvest salmonids above Bonneville dam the scapegoats. Sorry fellas but that just doesn't fly with me. The tribes deserve every fish they get and more. Look at the long and sad history of the treaties that have been broken over the decades and you will see why I feel this way.
It's not only the Columbia river where ODFW has dropped the ball either. ODFW predicted that the Tillamook bay rivers were going to have a return of 114% of normal this last fall and so accordingly did not do anything to change bag limits etc. Well you can probably guess what happened there. As one who spends a lot of time on the north coast I can verify that the 114% did not show.
Wonder what kind of excuse we will hear when the whole emergency closure meetings this fall are held.

Do the Math - Why Steelhead Broodstock Programs Hurt Wild Fish

I've thought a lot about the steelhead broodstock programs over the years since it's inception and it, along with the harvest of wild cutthroat trout, are the main focus of my wrath against the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Being that I am not a fishery biologist I rely on the wisdom of others that are educated in fish biology, specifically anadromous salmonids like steelhead and I've asked both Bill Bakke and Spencer Miles to help me with this post.
Let's go with some simple mathematics. I'll use females as my examples since one wild male steelhead can "service" several females.
A typical wild steelhead female will produce about 3-5 thousand eggs so for this example I'll go with the bottom end number of 3,000. Out of these eggs let's conservatively estimate that out of these eggs 2 adults will mature to return as adults 2-3 years later. ODFW takes about 30-35 pair, each year, of wild steelhead. So if out of those 30-35 pairs of wild steelhead, that are used to make hatchery steelhead, were to produce, let's say 60 returning adults and then multiply that by the number of years these broodstock programs have been running and then multiply, if you can the lost progeny all the generations of wild eggs that were turned into hatchery steelhead I think you may be surprise at the cost to wild steelhead populations. The offspring of these wild steelhead are taken out of the equation and will not spawn naturally. Instead they are made into a hatchery product. The potential of each and every one of those wild into hatchery eggs is lost. How many wild steelhead would those "borrowed" eggs produced.
On the Nestucca and Wilson rivers this broodstock program has been going one for about 10 years. Do the math! I used conservative numbers and percentages to make my point but even at that the numbers really add up.
These two rivers have declining populations of wild winter steelhead. Redd counts from the last two years were alarmingly low yet ODFW still does their take of wild steelhead to populate their hatchery needs.
Who benefits most from this program?
Very simple! Professional bait guides do. They lobbied hard for this program and they all march lock step in advocating it. They claim the wild populations are healthy enough to sustain the removal of the wild spawning fish every year. I have my doubts about the numbers they come up with on their creel and spawning surveys.
Do I think they are deliberately inflating their creel counts of wild steelhead they've encountered? Well let me put it this way. They are the user group who benefits most by having this steelhead broodstock fishery.
They have guided trips with paying customers at a time of year that in the past they did not. Their customers are able to harvest the hatchery broodstock steelhead at a time of year when there should be only wild steelhead present and less angling pressure
There are other pitfalls of these programs besides just the numbers. I think all other arguments about the negative effect of steelhead broodstock programs aside the sheer numbers of wild fish removed, over a period of years, should be the most alarming.
One bait guide says these wild eggs are just being borrowed! Borrowed? How so? The potential or recruits of all those offsprings are multiplied and lost forever.
It's a dangerous game that ODFW is playing with the future of wild steelhead and the gamble is not worth it in the least.
This example I've used describes a stable situation where the steelhead parents are replacing themselves. It illustrates a conversion of a wild salmonid population into a production program to provide harvest benefits to a business. This conversion has a biological impact on the wild population through genetic and competition impacts that affect the reproductive success of the wild population at a cost to the public that supports the program through tax dollars, fees and investments in watershed protection. The cost to produce a fish that is harvested is hidden from the public by the state management agency. There have been some economic studies that have determined what those costs are. For example, a recent independent economic evaluation was completed under contract for NOAA Fisheries that pointed out that the Mitchell Act Hatchery program on the Columbia River (18 hatcheries) is a deficit spending program for all hatcheries. These hatcheries are supported with public tax dollars. In response NOAA Fisheries fired this economics team and looked for one that would give them the answer they wanted. For hatchery programs, regardless the type, there is no cost or biological impact accountability. These programs are sold by the management agencies (state, tribal and federal) as conservation actions, when in fact they are not only a drain on public funds, they are increasing the risk to wild fish populations. The recent study done by Chilcote (NOAA Fisheries), Goodson (ODFW) and Falcy (ODFW) point out that conventional hatchery production and native broodstock hatcheries for coho, chinook and steelhead all contribute to the decline of the wild populations that they affect, for the wild populations decline in proportion to the naturally spawning hatchery fish in those wild populations. The agencies have constructed a good business plan, for they get most of the benefit from the invested public funds, but it has eclipsed the conservation mission of the agencies and is placing the native fish that are their primary responsibility at greater risk of extinction. For example, the Sandy River wild steelhead have declined from an estimated 20,000 fish to 800 fish over time. Mitigation hatcheries funded by the public have not been successful in replacing the loss or stemming the decline. Even though the public has made a $100 million commitment to restore this river for wild salmon and steelhead, they are disturbed by the fact that wild run continues to decline, it is threatened with extinction, and the habitat is filled with hatchery fish. One biologist concluded that hatchery fish waste the productivity of the habitat and the investments to restore it.
ODFW is being very myopic, of course, as it's not so much the removal of 1-2% of the run that's screwing things up, as steelhead are remarkably resilient and will replenish themselves (we harvested probably 50% of the run, or more, for decades before things got noticeably bad). I think the broodstock program is horrible for a whole different set of reasons:
1) ODFW sold the public on a program that they claimed would have more conservation benefits and be less harmful to wild fish. As Chilcote has shown, this is 100% false.
2) We now have hatchery fish spawning on top of our Feb-May wild fish. No studies have even been conducted on this, which really pisses me off (though Chilcote told me that this is going to be his next area of focus, should start a study on this later in the year).
3) On the Nestucca and Wilson, wild fish at least had the river to themselves from February to May up until 2004. Now it's a constant onslaught of hatchery pukes. Summers from May - January, Alsea stock from November - February, and "wild" broodstock from January - May.
4) Increased pressure.There used to be minimal pressure from Feb-April, and now it's a parade of drift boats. The gravel from Beaver to Blaine is no longer even utilized as the fish aren't going to spawn when 25 boats are going over them.
I would like to thank Bill Bakke and Spencer Miles from Native Fish Society for their contribution to this subject

The ODFW Version of 3 Card Monte

What is the old saying? If you can't wow them with facts then baffle them with bullshit!
Here is what those fine folks at ODFW are doing on the Sandy river
Lowering the baseline and avoiding the ESA by Spencer Miles

Come To Oregon This Summer For Poached Steelhead

No I'm not talking about illegally caught either.
In a press release from NSIA (Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association) it states the following.

NSIA representatives included major retailers such as Fred Meyer and Fishermen’s Marine and Outdoor, tackle manufacturers, outdoor advertising and media, and guides. Facilitated by ODFW, the participants brainstormed ways to leverage their collective communication platforms and resources for better outreach to attract new customers to this thriving but under appreciated fishery.

“Steelhead are one of Oregon’s most prized game fish, known for their fight,” said Todd Davidson, Director of Travel Oregon. “Great conditions and stable fishing seasons make summer steelhead a solid draw to Oregon for visiting anglers and their families.” Davidson continued, “The statewide potential of this pilot project is tremendous.”
Last year, nearly half a million of these summer steelhead, often nicknamed “freight trains” entered the Columbia River and were pursued by anglers from the bank and from boats. For 2011 the steelhead returns will be down, but only slightly. “This is the perfect fishery for the families that shop Fred Meyer,” said Cheryl Kindwall, sporting goods buyer. “A Columbia River steelhead is easily caught from the river’s many public beaches, turning a fishing trip into a picnic and fun family outing.”

So what is wrong with this you might ask? The Columbia river runs very warm, fish wise, in the summer months. It runs on an average year in the lethal range of 68-71Fin August the height of tourist season. Plainly speaking that is too hot to stress out a wild steelhead.
When a steelhead is hooked and played in those warm temperatures is is almost always lethal.
It is somewhat surprising that a group like NSIA would promote this fishery knowing that the warm water is harmful.
Tourism in Oregon is fine and we all know that it helps Oregon's struggling economy but to promote actually harming ESA is troubling. I would have thought NSIA would know better.Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who are also involved in this promotion of CR summer steelhead, has once again shown a total disregard for the health of wild salmonids...does that surprise you?

An Important Read

If you have ever had doubts about just how hatchery programs affect wild salmon and steelhead you will want to read the study linked below. It's a pretty long read but it is worth it.
Chilcote Study on hatchery anadromous fish and their effect on wild salmonids

Things to Think About for 2012

In 2012 Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will consider new angling proposals. This is a process that happens every 4 years and the public is invited to submit their ideas for consideration.
We have to be vigilant and stick up for our wild salmonids and their habitat and your help is needed.

Here are some proposals that I am kicking around.

- A 10" to 13" statewide slot limit for all wild cutthroat trout
- Barbless hooks for use in all rivers where wild salmon, trout and steelhead are present
- Bait restrictions in upper portions of coastal rivers
- Increased protection of salmon and steelhead spawning areas
- Increasing daily and weekly bag limits for hatchery steelhead
These are just some of the things that will be addressed and considered for future regulations.
AS we get closer to the time for this process to begin I will keep you all posted about what you need to do.
Please be involved! Wild fish need your help

Gary Moore RIP 1952-2011

This guy could rock!!!!!

Reagan at 100

Yes I know I made a pledge to "depoliticize" the Quiet Pool but I couldn't resist sharing this with all of you.

Barbless Hooks and Their Importance to Wild Salmonid Recovery

There is an incredible resistance among sports anglers against the use of barbless hooks and I do not understand it.
Studies show that the use of barbless hooks does decrease mortality among released fish. Think about for a minute.
You've hooked a wild trout and know that you are going to release it. Doesn't it make sense that a barbless hook allows your fly or lure to be quickly removed and therefore would be desirable among ALL sports anglers? This is just common sense...right?
The vitriol against the use of barbless hooks, especially among conventional gear anglers, is shocking.

Click on the link below for an eye opening article by Bill Bakke, executive director of Native Fish Society
Barbless Hooks Study by Bill Bakke

Wild Steelhead - It's What's for Dinner

It recently came to my attention that Key City Fish Company of Port Townsend, Washington is a distributor of wild steelhead to area restaurants.
I emailed them and here is the exchange I had with them

I wrote -

It has come to my attention that you distribute and sell ESA listed wild steelhead to various Seattle restaurants.I would please implore you to stop and do not purchase these endangered fish any longer.
Wild steelhead are a very precious resource in this region and we cannot afford to let their numbers slip any further.
Once they are gone they are gone forever...there is no replacement for them in our rivers and in our rivers is where they belong not on someone dinner plate.
Please consider not selling them anymore.


Key City's Response -

Thank you for your concern regarding the Olympic Peninsula Steelhead. We agree with your position that distributing unsustainable, endangered and threatened fish is not a good idea.
The Olympic Peninsula Steelhead that we purchase is always from the sustainably managed Quileute tribal fishery on the Quileute River or the Makah tribal fishery on the Tsooees River. The Steelhead is a combination of both hatchery and wild stock that has spawned naturally. The Quileute and Makah Tribes are closely partnered with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to effectively, and aggressively manage these fisheries so that they remain healthy and robust for generations to come. The state and tribes actively work with citizens to catalogue details about habitat and map fish stock distributions. I can assure you that everyone involved, from tribe to state to distributor and restaurant has a vested interest in the preservation of this fish.
It is true that many Wild Steelhead populations are indeed endangered or threatened and should absolutely be completely avoided, such as those on the California Coast, Oregon Coast, Snake River, and Puget Sound. However, the Olympic Peninsula Steelhead population is healthy, robust and absolutely not threatened. For confirmation of this please visit NOAA’s website at:
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/ESA-Salmon-Listings/Salmon-Populations/Steelhead/.
We are aware that there is considerable conflict between sport and commercial fishermen regarding the regulation of steelhead fishing and we understand the frustrations of both sides. We want to stress, though, that our interest in this fish is primarily as a fantastic food. The Olympic Peninsula Steelhead we deliver is sustainably and legally caught according to the regulations set forth by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and is not endangered or threatened according to NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. If these official assessments were to change we would indeed adjust our use of this product.
Best Regards,
Johnpaul Davies
Key City Fish Company

So okay they don't care but we do! I urge anyone who thinks the conservation of wild steelhead is pretty important and that Key City Fish Company is wrong to write this company and express your unhappiness about their business practices and their commitment to wild steelhead.
You can also write to companies that get fish from Key City and make them aware of what is going on.
Here is the response from a restaurant that got fish from Key City  Ray's Boathouse Restaurant in Seattle


Thank you for your feedback. We are no longer serving Steelhead. We will continue to work hard to find truly sustainable sources for our products and appreciate your comments at any time. Thank you for your time and passion on this very important issue.

Best,
Peter Birk, Executive Chef
Ray’s Boathouse, Café & Catering
6049 Seaview Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Obviously Ray's think wild steelhead are pretty important and that putting them on the menu is wrong.....Thank You Ray!

Reaching out to businesses like Key City and Ray's does make a difference. Maybe Key City will change their minds about serving wild steelhead if they get enough emails and calls to quit serving them.

The New Normal

The rivers of Puget Sound are closing again this year because of low returns of wild steelhead...yes I said again. This is the second year in a row that this has happened and I would have to applaud the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for taking this action in order to preserve the few wild steelhead remaining.
Do the names Skagit, Skykomish and Sauk sound familiar? These are the rivers of steelhead legend. The Stilliguamish once had 80,000 winter steelhead returning to it but now have fewer than 1000! How in the hell did this happen? I'm sure there is plenty of finger pointing going on but the fact remains that this is could be the "new normal"
Here is the link to the sad and alarming WDFW news release.

Puget Sound River Closures

“No Winter Lasts Forever; No Spring Skips Its Turn.”

I dredged this up from 2008 and thought that everything I wrote about winter 3 years ago holds true today. This winter has been extra tough as I am helping a relative that refuses to be helped. Anyway enjoy these musings from a few years back....I think it's one of the best I've written.



Websters defines cabin fever as "extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time"
The clinical definition is Seasonal Affective Disorder or some call it the shack nasties and yes I have it. Since my retirement I have the onset of the "winter blues". I've touched on this before in other entries but this season seem to be the worst I've dealt with. Constantly cold,drizzly and days that are too short. My favorite winter steelhead stream has a mudslide in the upper river that has kept the lower twenty miles of the main stem (most of the river) the color of a cappuccino and thus unfishable. The other nearby rivers have ran high for almost all of the winter and since I am not a gear fisherman it makes the swinging of flies tough and I don't need any more handicaps in hooking winter steelhead on a fly than I already have.
With ice and snow on nearly all of the coastal range passes and gasoline topping out over $3 well you get the picture. If it sounds like I'm whining or making excuses then I confess but you can only tie so many flies,watch so many fishing DVDs and have so many heated political or conservation debates with the unlearned so called sportsmen on the internet before it gets to you.
So my edginess may be more evident in my postings this time but bear with me for a few more months.
How I long for those exciting first few trout excursions of the spring over to the Deschutes and what I wouldn't give to feel a two inch long salmon fly crawling down my neck because it's late spring along the Deschutes. Those lazy late summer days of the coast streams where the new trout water I discovered awaits me and my four weight.
I can just feel it now! The warm breeze of the desert canyon with the juniper and sage doing natures aroma therapy on my soul.
When I'm hiking up above the locked gate on the Deschutes this year I'll remember the cold of winter and rejoice in the little things that are all a part of my angling life.
So fellow winter sufferers take heart in what British poet Anne Bradstreet wrote about winter.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

NFS River Steward Op-Ed in the Oregonian

By Spencer Miles

Over the past decade countless organizations -- including Portland General Electric, the city of Portland, Western Rivers Conservancy and The Freshwater Trust -- have spent more than $75 million on Sandy River habitat restoration with a long-term goal of recovering wild fish. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, on the other hand, continues to show more interest in protecting its harmful hatchery programs than in protecting our native fish. The results have been catastrophic. 
Wild salmon and steelhead in the Sandy River desperately need our help. Native winter steelhead that once numbered 20,000 fish are now hanging on by a thread with a population of only 800 fish. Spring chinook are in even worse shape, having gone from a historic abundance of 29,000 fish to 750 today. Sandy River spring chinook, fall chinook, winter steelhead and coho are all listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and chum salmon are extinct.
For the past 40 years fisheries biologists have known that hatchery fish are extremely harmful to wild fish. A river can only support a finite number of fish, and over time, hatchery fish simply drive wild fish toward extinction. The ODFW fish commission continues to operate with little regard for science or the well-being of our endangered wild fish. This spring, about 1,250,000 hatchery-raised salmon and steelhead will be released into the Sandy.
In 1997 ODFW's abundance goal for the upper Sandy was 4,900 wild winter steelhead. By 2010 this number has been administratively reduced to a goal of 1,515 wild winter steelhead for the entire Sandy basin. Despite greatly improved habitat, these endangered fish are being managed out of existence.
At a recent ODFW meeting in Salem, Assistant Fish Division Administrator Bruce McIntosh stated that annual releases of 240,000 hatchery steelhead is a reasonable number for supporting a recovery of wild fish. The ODFW has been annually planting the Sandy with 240,000 hatchery steelhead for decades, and wild steelhead runs have declined precipitously as a result.
Albert Einstein once quipped that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In a recent interview with the Portland Tribune, ODFW District Biologist Todd Alsbury stated that reducing hatchery programs on the Sandy is a "last resort." Are four endangered species and one extinct species not grounds for this "last resort"? Must we wait for more extinctions before ODFW breaks from the status quo and starts protecting Oregon's salmon and steelhead?
It is time for the ODFW to stop ignoring the science and its responsibility under the law and truly commit to a restoration of Sandy River salmonids. Dozens of organizations have recognized the importance of these fish by giving more than $75 million to improve their habitat. If future generations are to ever witness a spawning salmon, the ODFW must take accountability for its deleterious hatchery program and designate the Sandy as a wild salmon sanctuary. Oregon will be a better place for it.

ODFW's Response

After getting over 300, at last count, responses to the wild steelhead situation on the Sandy river here is ODFW's response.
I will let you read it and draw your own conclusions before commenting at the end of this post.Please click on the link below to read the response from ODFW

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Memo - Sandy Basin Concerns 1-14-11



So what is Mr. McIntosh saying here? In my opinion not much. He fails to acknowledge that what ODFW is doing on the Sandy is a violation of Oregon's Native Fish Conservation Policy. This was pointed out to him and Ed Bowles, ODFW Fish Division Administrator, at the January 5th public meeting in Salem by Spence Miles.
In fact Bowles went so far as to say in another correspondence to a Native Fish Society River Steward that if conservation groups were to pursue a solution to this that  involved a lawsuit those group(s) bringing a suite would be "Marginalized"
Now isn't that interesting?  We have a state agency whose responsibility it is to protect and conserve those native steelhead acting like a spoiled child.
What Spencer has done is open a huge can of worms and brought Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to task for their huge failure in protecting an irreplaceable wild steelhead population. Those of us that call ourselves friends of wild fish can learn a hell of a lot from Spencer Miles about motivation to action when dealing with ODFW and concerning wild salmonids.

Wild Steelhead on the Sandy Need Your Help

  Fellow Native Fish Society river steward Spencr Miles has done research on the wild winter steelhead of the Sandy River near Portland Oregon. He found that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is sacrificing a disproportionate amount of endangered wild winter steelhead for the sake of yet another broodstock program. The details below are from a letter that Spencer wrote and posted on his blog Whitefish Can't Jump  If after reading what Spencer has found out pisses you off...and it should, please take the time to write ODFW a letter stating your displeasure of this "mining" of wild milt and eggs for the sake of another hatchery program.
Here is a link to an automailer that you can use send a letter to ODFW Save Sandy River Wild Winter Steelhead 
Thanks!

The Sandy River historically supported an annual native winter steelhead run of upwards of 20,000 fish (Mattson 1955). This run has now been in decline for decades, culminating in an escapement of 537 fish at Marmot dam in 1995 (Marmot Fish Counts) and an ESA listing of winter steelhead in 1998.

In 2000, just two years after the ESA listing went into effect, ODFW instituted a broodstock hatchery program on the Sandy with a goal of supplying 25% of the hatchery smolts with native Sandy River steelhead (Cedar Creek HGMP). In that year, with only 893 wild winter steelhead passing the Marmot dam, 140 wild steelhead were harvested from the river to support the new broodstock program. Between 2001 and 2007 an average of 83 wild steelhead were harvested for the broodstock program when the wild run above Marmot averaged only 781 fish (Marmot Fish Counts).
The Hatchery Scientific Review Group has determined that the primary cause of poor productivity in the Sandy is a high proportion of hatchery-origin spawners (HSRG 2009). Moreover, in 1998 NMFS estimated that as many as 45% of the spawning fish are of hatchery origin (Federal Register 1998).
During the summer of 2007 the Marmot dam was removed, allowing countless numbers of hatchery steelhead to reach some of the best spawning grounds in the watershed. The Marmot fish ladder also made it trivial to track escapement, and without this data, determining the maximum sustainable harvest to support the broodstock program is onerous at best.
How is it that the ODFW, despite a record low Sandy River escapement in the late 1990s, decided to implement a hatchery program based on harvesting this already fragile run?
Furthermore:
•How can the ODFW legally harvest native steelhead listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act?
•Does the ODFW have a scientific justification for harvesting ESA listed wild fish to sustain a sport fishery amidst record levels of low escapement?
•How does the ODFW measure annual escapement of wild winter steelhead on the Sandy, and how do the escapement estimates impact the number of wild fish harvested to support the broodstock program?
•At which point does wild escapement become too low to sustainably support a broodstock program?
•Does the ODFW feel that a harvest of up to 15% of an ESA listed fish is an acceptable method for supporting a sport fishery?
•In 1998 NMFS estimated a 45% hatchery stray rate on Sandy River spawning grounds, which has undoubtedly increased since the removal of Marmot dam. The ODFW has established a maximum limit of 10% hatchery spawners under the Native Fish Conservation Plan (OAR 635-007-0507), yet the Sandy River hatchery continues to operate with little regard to that administrative law. How does the Sandy River hatchery continue to legally stock 160,000 winter steelhead smolts and 80,000 summer steelhead (Sandy River HOP 2010) when it is clearly in violation of OAR 635-007-0507?
The Sandy River has the potential to be one of the finest urban winter steelhead fisheries in the country, yet the perpetuation of an unsustainable hatchery program has rendered it as anything but. It is my sincere hope that the Sandy River hatchery can be brought into compliance with state law, and that the Sandy River can once again provide amazing runs of native winter steelhead for future generations

The Smoking Gun?

Okay guys are we in agreement that hatcheries are harmful to wild salmonid populations? Still not convinced huh?
Well don't take my word for it and why should you anyway? I am not a trained fisheries biologist but I do believe the science that the experts have come up with. You could counter almost every argument that I posted if you are in favor of robust and vibrant hatchery programs.
Would you argue with science? Maybe the following assessment BY THE EXPERTS will convince you.

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2009) — Steelhead trout that are originally bred in hatcheries are so genetically impaired that, even if they survive and reproduce in the wild, their offspring will also be significantly less successful at reproducing, according to a new study published today by researchers from Oregon State University.
The poor reproductive fitness – the ability to survive and reproduce – of the wild-born offspring of hatchery fish means that adding hatchery fish to wild populations may ultimately be hurting efforts to sustain those wild runs, scientists said.
The study found that a fish born in the wild as the offspring of two hatchery-reared steelhead averaged only 37 percent the reproductive fitness of a fish with two wild parents, and 87 percent the fitness if one parent was wild and one was from a hatchery. Most importantly, these differences were still detectable after a full generation of natural selection in the wild.
The effect of hatcheries on reproductive fitness in succeeding generations had been predicted in theory, experts say, but until now had never been demonstrated in actual field experiments.
"If anyone ever had any doubts about the genetic differences between hatchery and wild fish, the data are now pretty clear," said Michael Blouin, an OSU professor of zoology. "The effect is so strong that it carries over into the first wild-born generation. Even if fish are born in the wild and survive to reproduce, those adults that had hatchery parents still produce substantially fewer surviving offspring than those with wild parents. That's pretty remarkable."
An earlier report, published in 2007 in the journal Science, had already shown that hatchery fish that migrate to the ocean and return to spawn leave far fewer offspring than their wild relatives. The newest findings suggest the problem does not end there, but carries over into their wild-born descendants.
The implication, Blouin said, is that hatchery salmonids – many of which do survive to reproduce in the wild– could be gradually reducing the fitness of the wild populations with which they interbreed. Those hatchery fish provide one more hurdle to overcome in the goal of sustaining wild runs, along with problems caused by dams, loss or degradation of habitat, pollution, overfishing and other causes.
Aside from weakening the wild gene pool, the release of captive-bred fish also raises the risk of introducing diseases and increasing competition for limited resources, the report noted.
This research, which was just published in Biology Letters, was supported by grants from the Bonneville Power Administration and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. It was based on years of genetic analysis of thousands of steelhead trout in Oregon's Hood River, in field work dating back to 1991. Scientists have been able to genetically "fingerprint" three generations of returning fish to determine who their parents were, and whether or not they were wild or hatchery fish.
The underlying problem, experts say, is Darwinian natural selection.
Fish that do well in the safe, quiet world of the hatcheries are selected to be different than those that do well in a much more hostile and predatory real-world environment. Using wild fish as brood stock each year should lessen the problem, but it was just that type of hatchery fish that were used in the Hood River study. This demonstrates that even a single generation of hatchery culture can still have strong effects.
Although this study was done with steelhead trout, it would be reasonable to extrapolate its results to other salmonids, researchers said. It's less clear what the findings mean to the many other species that are now being bred in captivity in efforts to help wild populations recover, Blouin said, but it's possible that similar effects could be found.
Captive breeding is now a cornerstone of recovery efforts by conservation programs for many threatened or endangered species, the researchers noted in their report. Thousands of species may require captive breeding to prevent their extinction in the next 200 years – which makes it particularly important to find out if such programs will ultimately work. This study raises doubts.
"The message should be clear," the researchers wrote in their report's conclusion. "Captive breeding for reintroduction or supplementation can have a serious, long-term downside in some taxa, and so should not be considered as a panacea for the recovery of all endangered populations."


So you have to ask yourself is this the smoking gun? One would certainly think so but this study probably wouldn't convince many in Tillamook county because the hatchery addicition runs deep through many gernerations of anglers.
We see bogus "conservation" awards for those who put their efforts into increasing hatchery output and those efforts are bullshit! So instead of letting the opinions of a few knuckle draggers who post on ifish.net and who believe that the the only way to fishing nirvana is dumping a "gazillion" hatchery smolt into the watershed (actual ifish quote) then read the science! It's all out there and easily accessible....do your homework if you care to because you will find the smoking gun on dwindling wild salmon and steelhead.

HAPPY NEW YEAR