The Outdoor Line Forum

No deal at the North of Falcon salmon season setting process means that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is supporting FAIR MANAGEMENT of our salmonid resources!

No deal for now means the the co-managers must individually apply to NOAA/NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) for a permit to conduct their fisheries.

The process for Federal approval is easier if the co-managers reach an agreement and apply together. However, when one side of the co-management bargaining parties acts unfairly and places draconian restrictions on the other's fisheries and expects the other side to swallow it because "a bad deal is better than no deal", it's time to walk away from the table.

No deal at the North of Falcon process means that we're entering uncharted waters and now must place pressure and scrutiny on NOAA to permit our fisheries!

There will be more info as it becomes available in this breaking story.

Nelly,
I saw mention of a graph showing the harvested fish, both tribal and non tribal, for the past decade that shows the tribes have consistently EXCEEDED their quotas, while the non-tribal fisheries have consistently been under quota. Do you have access to this? Could a copy of it get posted? Shared? Thanks,

The main thing is that we need to support our director by BUYING A FISHING LICENSE!
Here's a public official with the guts to call a broken "bargaining" process for what it is... Broken!
Let's hope this week we can come to an agreement and get our seasons back!

Hi Nellie, Did I hear it right that director Unsworth has a meeting tomorrow with gov. Inslee? I hope that he will not be called on the carpet for all of this! He stood up for us and this should be a wake up call to everyone involved to how broken the NOF really is and that it needs to be fixed now. It is my understanding that if both sides are not willing to bargain in good faith, then they are in violation of the agreement. It is apparent the tribes have not honored that; I hope this is addressed even though these politicians who supposedly "represent" us take campaign contributions from the tribes to help them get elected. If dir. Unsworth gets any sort of a reprimand from Inslee because of this, than we know where Inslee's true loyalties are and we need to remember that in November! Could you please follow up with dir. Unsworth and see if he will share with you how that meeting went? Personally, I trust Inslee about as much as I can pick up and throw the capitol building. It would be a pleasant surprise if Inslee objectively hears him out, and is supportive to overhauling the NOF process so both sides will bargain in good faith in the future. Thanks

I just got off a conference call with Governor Inslee's office and they are supportive of Director Unsworth and seeking a solution.

Also, Director Unsworth had an encouraging meeting with the tribes yesterday

I received a call from WDFW's Salmonid Policy Biologist John Long a few minutes ago, He’s on the road along with a few department staff to join Director Unsworth. The meeting with the tribes yesterday was productive enough that the tribes and state have re-engaged in negotiations.

No more news than that, but that alone is good news.

That does sound encouraging. I saw your notification via facebook they are talking today. I hope the tribes will be reasonable this time and a good deal (as good as we can get with the poor predictions we have this year!) can get done and send this on to NOAA for final approval. Thank you for keeping us informed on the latest.......

Apparently, this afternoon's North of Falcon discussion was south of productive.
Talks broke down shortly after they began and as of now, there are no further discussions scheduled.

I still hold out hope that the tribes being disadvantaged by a couple of unreasonable players will bring pressure to bear, cooler heads will prevail and they will come back to the table soon. There's a lot at stake, for them and for us. This works better when we work together.

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

April 19, 2016

Contact: Ron Warren, (360) 902-2799

WDFW to seek federal permit for Puget Sound
fisheries after talks with tribes end

OLYMPIA – State fishery managers have decided to separately secure the federal permit required to hold salmon fisheries this season in Puget Sound.

The decision was made Tuesday after negotiations over salmon seasons with tribal leaders again came to an impasse. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the tribes last week could not reach an agreement during the annual season-setting process.

“We had hoped additional conversations with the tribes would result in fisheries that were agreeable to both parties,” said Jim Unsworth, director of the department. “Unfortunately, that did not happen, but our door remains open to further discussions.”

WDFW officials said it is uncertain whether the department will have the permit in time to hold recreational and non-tribal commercial salmon fisheries in Puget Sound through much of the season. The permit is necessary to hold fisheries in Puget Sound where there are fish stocks protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Tribal fishery managers are expected to separately seek federal permits from NOAA Fisheries for salmon fisheries in Puget Sound.

Over the course of negotiations, the department proposed fisheries that maintained some fishing opportunities and met conservation objectives, said Ron Warren, head of WDFW’s Fish Program.

“This isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, but we will do our best to obtain a federal permit as quickly as possible,” Warren said.

dealing with these people is exhausting. probably how they felt about the state in the 60s. they had legitimate grievances then, and we do now. it would be nice if that pendulum would settle in the middle somewhere.

but I don't see how we can move forward (in the long term) without some kind of 3rd party mediation.