Is it OK to Gillnet an Endangered Species?...
It appears that it is... Our Idaho Nez Perce Tribal Leadership has decided that the treaty signed in 1855 allows them to set up a commercial fishery for Steelhead and Salmon so they have now been putting out gillnets to capture the fish for resale.
Our native and wild Steelhead Trout have struggled to recover their natural migration ranges. The State of Idaho, Nez Perce Tribe, Sportsmen and conservationists alike have worked hard and spent millions of our tax dollars to recover the wild Steelhead Trout and Salmon in our state. What is the logic in putting out such an indiscriminate killer like a gillnet?
Why have we not heard from Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club or HSUS on the issue of protection of these Endangered Species? (This will be a question for another day...)
The State, Federal government and Tribes enacted strict fishing rules for hatchery Steelhead Trout and Salmon, where any wild fish must be released upon it being caught during the normal fishery for hatchery Steelhead and Salmon. It disturbs me as a Sportmen and conservationist that the Tribal Leadership has decided to jump into the commercial fishery business using gillnets that are not discriminate to wild fish. It also concerns me that our fisheries biologists have predicted near record returns of Salmon this spring as well, heightening the chance of Salmon once again up in Redfish lake.. Will these Salmon (wild or not) be subject to the same nets?
I'm told it's a tradition within the Tribe where gillnets have been used in the past to provide for subsistence for Tribal members. I think it’s admirable that Tribal members take care of members in need, but I also think it's pushing "tradition" to use those gillnets to create a commercial fishery based on a 1855 treaty (when the logic used at the time was to support Tribal subsistence for those members).
Supporting and remembering one's heritage is important, we've all have past family histories that should be handed down from generation to generation. My family (The Hagedorn "Tribe") has hunting and fishing traditions as well. I understand that we had traditions in our family hunting history that were a bit more destructive, but we've learned and grown from those ways and now practice good conservation when in the field.
It would seem to me that the Nez Perce Tribal Leadership would have the vision to grow and learn in the same way. Passing on traditional histories and cultural heritage is important and useful, but on the other hand, exploiting those traditions at the expense of good relationships with your neighboring communities is destructive behavior.
Millions of Sportsmen’s tax dollars paid through the purchase of their sporting equipment to the Department of Interior have been used to ensure the success of all the fish hatcheries that contribute to good fisheries and economic returns to those Idaho communities around the rivers, streams and lakes supported by those hatcheries. By not working closely with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the local county, cities and groups relying on these fisheries, the Tribal Leadership have set themselves up for microscopic examinations of their practices.
Rumors of not cutting adipose fins (the method used to determine wild (with) from hatchery (without) fish) from smelts released from the hatchery they operate to not providing good (or any) reservation catch counts to the Department of Fish and Game contribute to the lack of credibility of those in Leadership when they say they will only use so many nets and that catches will be closely monitored.
We are currently told that a minimum number of nets have been put out, with few fish caught. "Only one Wild Steelhead" has been killed is what’s been reported... If I were out hunting and came in with my limit of Grouse and claimed "Only one Wolf was killed" during my hunt, would that be an acceptable excuse to the public? I suspect not...
Driving on Highway 95 and seeing Steelhead and Salmon being sold out of the back of cars and trucks without any safety or health inspections endangers not only the fishery but our citizens as well.
Actives surrounding this fishery approved by Tribal Leadership is unhealthy for our wildlife and our citizens. That's why I've introduced House Bill H0471 requiring the buyers of Steelhead and Salmon (and other wildlife) to have a "buyers license".
Safety of our citizens and our wildlife should be important to all of us, regardless of the State or Nation you hail from.
Your thoughts?
Our native and wild Steelhead Trout have struggled to recover their natural migration ranges. The State of Idaho, Nez Perce Tribe, Sportsmen and conservationists alike have worked hard and spent millions of our tax dollars to recover the wild Steelhead Trout and Salmon in our state. What is the logic in putting out such an indiscriminate killer like a gillnet?
Why have we not heard from Defenders of Wildlife, the Sierra Club or HSUS on the issue of protection of these Endangered Species? (This will be a question for another day...)
The State, Federal government and Tribes enacted strict fishing rules for hatchery Steelhead Trout and Salmon, where any wild fish must be released upon it being caught during the normal fishery for hatchery Steelhead and Salmon. It disturbs me as a Sportmen and conservationist that the Tribal Leadership has decided to jump into the commercial fishery business using gillnets that are not discriminate to wild fish. It also concerns me that our fisheries biologists have predicted near record returns of Salmon this spring as well, heightening the chance of Salmon once again up in Redfish lake.. Will these Salmon (wild or not) be subject to the same nets?
I'm told it's a tradition within the Tribe where gillnets have been used in the past to provide for subsistence for Tribal members. I think it’s admirable that Tribal members take care of members in need, but I also think it's pushing "tradition" to use those gillnets to create a commercial fishery based on a 1855 treaty (when the logic used at the time was to support Tribal subsistence for those members).
Supporting and remembering one's heritage is important, we've all have past family histories that should be handed down from generation to generation. My family (The Hagedorn "Tribe") has hunting and fishing traditions as well. I understand that we had traditions in our family hunting history that were a bit more destructive, but we've learned and grown from those ways and now practice good conservation when in the field.
It would seem to me that the Nez Perce Tribal Leadership would have the vision to grow and learn in the same way. Passing on traditional histories and cultural heritage is important and useful, but on the other hand, exploiting those traditions at the expense of good relationships with your neighboring communities is destructive behavior.
Millions of Sportsmen’s tax dollars paid through the purchase of their sporting equipment to the Department of Interior have been used to ensure the success of all the fish hatcheries that contribute to good fisheries and economic returns to those Idaho communities around the rivers, streams and lakes supported by those hatcheries. By not working closely with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the local county, cities and groups relying on these fisheries, the Tribal Leadership have set themselves up for microscopic examinations of their practices.
Rumors of not cutting adipose fins (the method used to determine wild (with) from hatchery (without) fish) from smelts released from the hatchery they operate to not providing good (or any) reservation catch counts to the Department of Fish and Game contribute to the lack of credibility of those in Leadership when they say they will only use so many nets and that catches will be closely monitored.
We are currently told that a minimum number of nets have been put out, with few fish caught. "Only one Wild Steelhead" has been killed is what’s been reported... If I were out hunting and came in with my limit of Grouse and claimed "Only one Wolf was killed" during my hunt, would that be an acceptable excuse to the public? I suspect not...
Driving on Highway 95 and seeing Steelhead and Salmon being sold out of the back of cars and trucks without any safety or health inspections endangers not only the fishery but our citizens as well.
Actives surrounding this fishery approved by Tribal Leadership is unhealthy for our wildlife and our citizens. That's why I've introduced House Bill H0471 requiring the buyers of Steelhead and Salmon (and other wildlife) to have a "buyers license".
Safety of our citizens and our wildlife should be important to all of us, regardless of the State or Nation you hail from.
Your thoughts?
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