People for Puget Sound to storm WDFW commission meeting Sat

[Fishnut]

Anyone interested in going to the commission meeting this Saturday? There should not be anyone speaking on items on the agenda for decision making according to the schedule, which this is. But it looks like there will be. People for Puget Sound are attimate about closures.



Commission Agenda below.



http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings/ ... b0511.html





Closures are not the answer. The 80s is when the commercial fisheries were at its peak in the Puget Sound. We have recovery but these groups do not want to acknolwledge this. There is no funding money for recovering fisheries. They want to install closures and let the state take over from there where the real costs takes place.



Here is the email that was intercepted.


SPEAK UP TO RESTORE DEPLETED PUGET SOUND FISHERS.

Dear Lucy,

The American Fisheries Society rates Puget Sound as having the most
depressed fisheries in North America. Federal and state agencies have
listed dozens of fish and wildlife from rockfish to salmon to orcas as
threatened or endangered.

Speak up to bring back the numbers of Puget Sound rockfish so our
children and grandchildren can fish.

Please come to the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission public
meeting this Saturday, February 5 at 8:30 AM in Olympia to speak FOR
creating a 'no harvest' marine reserve near the mouth of the Strait of
Juan de Fuca. Doug Myers, Peole For Puget Sound Dirctor of Science
will be on hand to greet you and provide you support on this important
issue.

WHAT: Public meeting to show your support for a 'no harvest' marine
reserve.

WHEN: Saturday, February 5; 8:30 AM

WHERE: Natural Resources Building , First Floor, Room 175 , 1111
Washington St. SE , Olympia, Washington 98501

Directions to the Natural Resources Building: From I-5, take State
Capitol exit (105). The exit puts you on 14th Avenue. Go through the
tunnel and turn right onto Capitol Way. Turn right onto 11th Avenue.
Turn right onto Washington. Turn left into the parking lot. Visitor
parking is on the P-1 level of the building.

POINTS TO SPEAK TO:

The number and size of fish like rockfish and cabezon have declined
since the early 1980s due to overfishing.
Marine species can recover in a science-based management system that
sets aside marine areas where no harvest of fish is allowed.
This science-based system is called a network of Marine Reserves and
Marine Protected Areas.
Today, less than 1% of Puget Sound is protected within marine
reserves. Designating at least 20% of Puget Sound as "no harvest"
marine reserves will ensure sustained fisheries in the remaining
fished portion of Puget Sound.
Scientists have measured the total amount of living organisms within
"no harvest" marine reserves and seen it double or triple over time.
Biological diversity increases by as much as a third.
Inside 'no harvest' reserves, average fish size increases to as much
as a third more than fish outside of reserves. Larger, more mature
fish inside reserves produce many more eggs and babies than fish
outside of reserves.
Total amount of living organisms in Puget Sound reserves have
increased over 500% and density of living organisms have increased of
over 200%.

TO THE FISH & WILDLIFE COMMISSION:

Strategically locating "no harvest" reserves in areas of high quality
habitat and biological diversity will benefit many endangered marine
species and will help to restore Puget Sound fisheries to health.

Please begin by establishing a 'no harvest' marine reserve at the
mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca today.

For more information, contact Doug Myers, People For Puget Sound
Director of Science (360.754.9177), dmyers@pugetsound.org
[mailto:dmyers@pugetsound.org] .

Cheers,

Rein Attemann

rattemann@pugetsound.org [mailto:rattemann@pugetsound.org]

:: SAVE OUR SOUND ::

People For Puget Sound works with people for a clean and healthy
Sound.

Since 1991 we have protected and restored habitat through education
and action.


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[Jerm]

Ill be there, riding down with some of the bloodydecks guys.

Show the tree huggers were not going to take there bs.

[Ryan]

The closure they refer to is not supported by good science, but generally speaking, we'd be better served to meet some of them and see if there is some common ground, then to bash them as tree huggers. Based on past shows, I gather TOL hosts are not fans of PFPS, but I'm really not sure they are radical. Heck, they gave Norm Dicks a person of the year award or something like that. And their letter specifically addresses fishing and the need to pass fishing opportunity on to our kids. I suspect our interests are more aligned with these folks then with the commercials. And as they say, I'd rather have the tree huggers in the tent pissn out then out of the tent pissn in.

[Jerm]

Its there sneaky way's. If the PSA wouldn't of intercepted that letter know one would even know about this.

These type of people aren't supporting the future of fishing.

Are they helping at all?

[Dan Carney]

Add to that the recent unpublished report (which was leaked out to the news) by a group of shoddy scientists who state that the J pod of Orcas is starving because there aren't enough salmon and steelhead in the Columbia/Snake River drainage and you have a mess. I did some investigation today on this report and the only thing I can say is that this in no way resembles science. I may not have a PhD after my name, but I do have a BA in science and a fair amount of common sense.

[Salmonhawk]

Thanks for the heads up Fishnut. I know Doug, I served on the rockfish committee with him and the PFPS is one of the groups that I have been talking about in regards to access. They would like to see 20 percent or more of Puget Sound closed to fishing for good in the form of MPA's. They believe that closures and MPA's are the holy grail to fisheries management. There are many proven management techniques that do not involve permanent closures to vast areas but they don't want to hear that. They say they are for fishing but have never seen a closure they don't like, regardless of science.

[Smalma]

Salmonhawk -
Refrresh my memory - Until this past year in regards to the Puget Sound rockfish didn't the State consider that the sound ended at the mouth of the Sekiu River?

Further with the Federal ESA listing didn't they define the Puget Sound Distinct Population segment as those waters of the waters of inland waters of Puget Sound east of the Victoria Sill (roughly that area east of line between Victoria and PA)?

Do I recall correctly that there is liitle recruitment of juvenile rockfish from the ocean/Neah Bay to Puget Sound east of the Straits?

Looks to me that once again some folks are attempting to use an ESA listing to lever their agenda with little regard for the science or actual benefits to the listed critter.

Tight lines
Curt

[Salmonhawk]

Curt,

You are correct as far as I recall everything and I couldn't agree with you more about some people's disregard for the best available science. This is nothing more than an attempt to grab and control a very productive pice of this state just because they can, or at least try.