Secretary of Commerce
Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary Room 5516
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: 202-482-2000
Fax: 202-482-2741
Email: CGutierrez@doc.gov
This letter
is in reference to Season Options for the Sport Salmon fishery of the pacific coast.
I along with millions of fishermen and thousands of business’s want to voice
our concern at what NOAA is proposing for the 2006 Salmon season. There is also
great concern about the proposals to close down Salmon and other hatchery
programs.
In 2002 there was a
massive fish kill that resulted in the loss of between 60-70 thousand adult
fall-run Chinook (King Salmon). These fish did not get the opportunity to
spawn. The fish kill was a result of a decision by the administration to
drastically reduce river flows in order to give the farmers that use Klamath
water more irrigation. The low water not only killed the run of fish before
they spawned, but a parasite bloom occurred due to the continued low water
flow.
The salmon population in this river has been affected by this tragedy;
however, the King Salmon population in total for the Pacific coast is not. The
reason for the Klamath stock being low is not because of over fishing, but
because of poor water management. Moreover, 2006 shows good potential for the
river, as there are high flows and a good snow-pack. Therefore continuing the
normal salmon season should not adversely affect the number of salmon or affect
the population negatively.
We need to keep our hatcheries
open to manage this shift in fish stock. I know the reasons for closing the
hatcheries being proposed are due to a worry that fish raised in captivity do
not have to survive the perils of nature and this will cause a shift in stock
and create an artificial natural selection, which might weaken the fish line
over time. This problem is addressed below. There is also the consideration
that this idea with the modern hatcheries programs is no longer true. In the
70’s hatcheries fish did tend to be smaller and weaker than wild fish. Now with
modern hatchery programs, in the last few years the largest Salmon caught have
been hatcheries fish.
As you know there already are 3 plans on the table for the 2006 season.
There are threats of a lawsuit from the environmental groups regarding the ESA.
Please be advised that closing of our salmon season will cause huge losses for
all the business in our state and country. There has been talk of a class
action lawsuit among business and boat owners as well. I think we all will be
better off without a big court battle.
The simple answer is to manage the Klamath salmon eggs in hatcheries than
release the fry back in the Klamath near where the wild parents were captured.
Releasing the fry at 2 inches long is best. This will eliminate the high water
washout of eggs and the low water kill of eggs as well. If we do this
right it will also allow for the natural selection process.
Explained:
Natural selection of wild Salmon is done by the fish having to swim both up
stream and down stream along with finding their own food and avoiding
predators.
Chance selection is when the river conditions are right for the eggs to
hatch. Chance salmon kills are when the
river is to low or to high.
Since 90% of the eggs die in the riverbed, raising the eggs in a controlled
environment will result in 90 times more fry surviving. The need for the high
floor of spawning Salmon will no longer be required. We will achieve a much
higher amount of return salmon in a few short years without closing the ocean
fishing season.
Since only the wild fish that make it up the river will be used for stock, only
the strong wild strain will be used. Since the fry will be released in hundreds
of spots along the river, they will have to fight the elements just like the
wild fish and will return as a strong wild strain to natural spawning in the
area where released.
Looking at the Santa Cruz harbor project can prove return of the Salmon to
where they grew up. These Salmon are raised in a netted area in the harbor and
return to the harbor to spawn but cannot so they die there. Worse yet, it is
against the law to fish for Salmon in the harbor when they return to die
without spawning. Because the environmental groups have banned the local
hatcheries and forced this program to the harbor, this is a good example of
poor management to keep the environmental groups happy.
The practice of closing the hatcheries on the San Lorenzo River has not helped
the wild Salmon at all. The wild Salmon must swim through a battery of Sea
Lions in the river mouth. Since there are no hatchery fish to distract and feed
the Sea Lions, instead they now wipe out the wild Salmon before the Salmon make
it to the spawning areas. This has resulted in less not more wild Salmon
With the Salmon issue resolved with proper hatchery management, the farmers,
environmental groups, private business, Boat manufactures and state and federal
tax bases will all be allowed to continue operating without the impending
disaster that closing of the Salmon season will create. Besides the reason we
pay such high fishing license fees was originally intended to support these
hatchery programs.
There is no reason to destroy our rich tradition of salmon
fishing and cause a cascading economic catastrophe in light of the data
available. What we are talking about is shutting down an entire industry - both
sport and commercial.
Closing Salmon will affect both our state and federal economy greatly. The
losses won’t be limited to just fishing. This will cause thousands of small
business to go bankrupt. Since California supports 20% of boat sales
nationwide, this could result in the loss of 50,000 jobs nation wide. The tax
revenue loss for the state of California alone has been calculated to be
somewhere in excess of 100 million dollars.
Sincerely,
____________________________ Date _____________
signed
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printed name
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address
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state and zip
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