The author of Monday’s letter “Gill-net fishing must be reformed” is clearly regurgitating information received from the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). What the writer might not know is that the CCA was started and is run by big sport fishing interests and their motives are not solely conservation, but promotion of sport fishing and guides. An industry where only a scant 2 percent of the population gets their fish. The rest rely on commercial fishers to bring the products to market.
It is simply not true that reforms have not been made and are not continuing to be made in commercial fishing and that selective methods are not employed. Since 2000, Columbia River commercial fishers have invested millions of dollars in live-capture fishing gear and recovery boxes for the fishery. All participants in the commercial spring Chinook fishery must have attended state-sponsored training in the proper use of the new gear. Short net lengths, short soak times, and mandatory use of the resuscitation box allow the fisherman to return unmarked (and presumably wild) spring Chinook to the river alive and in good condition. The mortality rate for fish released from this gear is comparable to the hooking mortality attributed to the sport fishery.
Gillnetters do not indiscriminately kill non-target species as the writer suggests. Gear is deployed when abundance of target stocks is high, and abundance of stocks of concern is low. Commercial gear is 100 percent selective when it is not being fished, which is how large-mesh gear is managed for selective fisheries. Yes, I do come from a three-generation fishing family and while I currently am not directly involved in commercial fishing, I have fished in Oregon, Washington and Alaska for over 18 years. I know that catching a bird in gillnet gear is an extremely rare occurrence.
Erik Hjorten
Everett
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