Gill-net fishing must be reformed

Excellent Jan. 10 column in The Herald, “Who’s really in charge,” by Jerry Cornfield about the legislative session now under way, and a list of our legislative representatives by district.

One bill that has been introduced, HB 2266, is a ban on non-selective way of fishing by gill nets. The bill replaces it with selective methods, proven over the years to work, but deemed illegal many years back through the legislative process.

The importance to this is a law mandating that the Fish and Wildlife Commission make fishing available for commercial and sport fishers alike. Both groups are trying to catch hatchery fish, designated by a missing adipose fin, clipped at the hatchery before the fish are released as smolts.

The problem is that many wild fish that are listed as threatened or endangered are being caught while fishing for hatchery fish. Gill nets don’t allow you to sort and release the fish unharmed. Killing endangered fish and non-targeted fish like sturgeon, and also birds, is the issue. The law states that only targeted hatchery fish may be kept. All others must be released, but are usually dead.

Common sense would tell us that this wasteful method needs to be reformed.

Sport fishers already use selective methods and it is time that commercials fishers follow suit.

Hopefully, our legislators will want to preserve and protect a Washington state icon that represents us on our state quarter. Please take a few minutes to e-mail your legislators. They want to hear from you.

Lewis Boyd

Everett