Thank you for the well-written articles on commercial fishing in the Everett area. As a former fisherman on seiners out of Bellingham while a student at Western Washington State College, it brought back pleasant memories of days off Lummi Island and a trip to Ketchikan, Alaska. As a casual sport fisherman, I can relate to the diminished fishing resources and the many causes related to the depletion of the fishing industry. It is a sad legacy to leave to future generations.
The problem that continues to bother me is that we have no published collective studies on the cause of the depleted fish. This information should be easily available to the public because of the number of agencies, sports groups and federal, state and university departments specializing in fisheries. There is a lack of communication to the public in regard to such information. Which agency is responsible for providing it?
I want to know what is causing the depleted and damaged fishing resources. Is it clear-cutting in the logging industry? Is it nets dropped at the mouth of waterways? Is it commercial fishing? Sport fishing? Pollution?
Public awareness might lead to action among groups to work together to improve the declining and lost resources. We might even get help from the various agencies and bureaus that have been studying this for years. They may even have some clout to effect change. It is not enough to kill a few sea lions at the mouth of the waterways.
As I write this letter, the North Fork of the Stilliguamish River is flooding in front of our home. The salmon that just came up the Grant Creek to spawn are being washed way. I think a large degree of the flood is from clear cutting but I would like the facts.
Philip James
Arlington
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