Washington anglers getting raped

[fajizzle nizzle]

Returns of wild steelhead to Washington rivers have been on a long downward trend. In all but 11 of Washington's hundreds of rivers, wild steelhead must be released unharmed, and, by law, cannot even be removed from the water for a photo. Anglers are allowed to keep one wild steelhead a year and it can only come from one of the 11 rivers where it is allowed.
The anglers of Washington have complied with these rules, and most of us support the conservation effort. What burns our asses is that the indian tribes of Washington are commercially gillnetting the hell out of these fish. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has almost no say in what the tribes do, and they remain silent out of political correctness. The federal government turns a blind eye. Don't confuse this commercial harvest with spiritual or ceremonial harvest. These are out and out for-profit commercial operations where tribal members net fish for months on end. There are no commercial steelhead fisheries in Washington for non-tribal fishers.
What we are trying to do about this commercial slaughter of a dwindling resource is to get the word out about which restaurants are dealing in wild Washington steelhead. Restaurants Unlimited Inc. owns several restaurants around the country that are buying wild steelhead from Washington indian tribes. Those restaurants are listed below and the sport anglers of Washington ask that you avoid these businesses and let them know why. They are serving fish that are being commercially harvested by tribal members, despite dismal runs and bold conservation efforts by sportsmen.

Clinkerdaggers - Spokane, WA

Horatio's - San Leandro, CA

Maggie's Bluff - Seattle, WA

Palamino - Charlotte, NC / Cincinnati, OH / Dallas, TX / Denver, CO / Honolulu, HI / Indianapolis, IN / Los Angeles, CA / Minneapolis, MN / Pittsburgh, PA / San Francisco, CA / Seattle, WA

Scott's Bar & Grill - Edmonds, WA

Skate's on the Bay - Berkeley, CA

Cutters Bayhouse - Seattle, WA

Kincaid's - Bloomington, MN / Burlingame, CA / Honolulu, HI / Norfolk, VA / Oakland, CA / Phoenix, AZ / Redondo Beach, CA / Redondo Beach, CA

Palisade - Seattle, WA

Ryan's Grill - Honolulu, HI

Simon & Seafort's - Anchorage, AK

Stanley & Seafort's - Tacoma, WA

Thank you all.

[StockGlock23]

That is complete bull. I have a slightly similar experience from when I lived in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan. We were salmon fishing on the power dam shoreline/pier and we had payed all of our out of state fees and bought all the tags, well we go down there legitamatly fishing and watched some native Americans snagging fish for hours on end. Not a single one of them had a license we were told...by them personally. And to top it all off they taunted us everytime we caught a fish saying how we were doing it the hard way and that they were much more proficent (SP?)anglers. Burns my @$$ to no extent.

[fajizzle nizzle]

Now imagine those snaggers with gill nets.

[lomfs24]

Nizzle, are you a member of an organization who is tracking this sort of thing? Or do you have contact information for these businesses?

I don't live in an area close to any of these fine dining establishments. However, I have do qualms about dropping them a letter voicing my displeasure.

[fajizzle nizzle]

You can voice your opinion to Restaurants Unlimited at the following web address.
http://www.r-u-i.com/cont.php
This is a hot issue on the northwest fishing websites and many people are joining organizations, looking for a vehicle to get their voices heard in the political scene. Some of those organizations include Trout Unlimited, Recreational Fishing Alliance, Puget Sound Anglers, and The Wild Steelhead Coalition. I'm an RFA member. There are rumors that the leadership from some of those groups are trying to put their heads together over this issue, but so far it's only rumors. For now, the buyers of the fish and the local newspapers are getting hit hard with letters and emails. Many papers printed articles about over-fishing by the Makah Tribe in their winter chinook fishery. A couple have mentioned a more recent issue with the Quinalt Tribe overharvesting steelhead on the Chehalis River. The Seattle papers might have an article on that one this weekend.
Our state department of fish and wildlife has little enforcement power over the tribes because of how the treaties are written. NOAA has some enforcement power but doesn't use it.

[fajizzle nizzle]

From today's Seattle Times and Seattle PI.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002190756_makah26.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/213742_makah26.html

[Sixgun_Symphony]

I am surprised that the Seattle newspapers have reported this story. They're liberal and usually bend over backwards for the Injuns. But the resource is vanishing and I suppose they could not continue with ignoring the abuses of the local tribes.

[Wet Dog]

Originally posted by StockGlock23
watched some native Americans snagging fish for hours on end. Not a single one of them had a license we were told...by them personally. And to top it all off they taunted us...

The only snaggers I've seen here in WA were white males 12-45, with and without licenses. Usually happens when the Humpies are running but I've seen them do it on coho too.

I live in sight of waters that native Americans fish & crab for 15 years and I've yet to witness anything I'd call illegal or abusive use of the resource. The ones I've met were all conservation minded and feel strongly entitled to their treaty rights.

I'm sure overfishing has a something to do with dwindling Steelhead numbers but I suspect developement and non fishing commercial uses (irrigation, sand & gravel, hydro electric) of the river have a greater effect. I'm seeing a trend toward the positive in recent years with groups actually working together to rehabilitate rivers (plantings for shade and errosion control, large woody debri is now being left instead of cleaned out and riparian areas aren't logged anymore.

[wade farley]

:cool: Dementia on the Bench! gotta love it!:soap: