Recreational fishing
Smelt Creel Study photos
SeaDoc is funding a creel survey project to determine the size of the recreational harvest of Surf Smelt.
Why not just have anglers report their catch like we do with salmon and crab?
Strangely enough, Surf Smelt is the one marine fish that you DON'T need a state fishing license to catch.
As one of our very important forage fishes, smelt have a critical place in the Salish Sea food web. Knowing the recreational catch is important so we can determine if harvest is impacting smelt populations or the other fish, birds and mammals that depend on smelt for food.
A creel survey is pretty straightforward: staff from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife go out to popular fishing spots, interview smelt anglers and examine their harvest to find out how much they cought. Joe Gaydos reports, anecdotally, that most of the people he chatted with were happy to talk to him, already had fishing licenses, and used their catch for food.
Want to learn see pictures and video of the smelt harvest or learn more about forage fish issues? Read on!
Learn more about SeaDoc's work on forage fish at the following pages:
- Joe Gaydos's 2012 letter to the editor of the Seattle Times making the case for why we need to focus on forage fish
- Research on how changes in forage fish availability affect the reproductive success of Common Murres on Tatoosh Island
- An overview of Nacho Vilchis's project to understand marine bird declines in the Salish Sea
- Summary of the 2011 Forage Fish Needs Assessment Workshop sponsored by SeaDoc and others.
Video (11 seconds; opens in new window):
Alternate link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRCawph2-TA
Photographs:
All video and photos by J. Gaydos.
Forage fish letter to the editor
On March 23, 2012, the Seattle Times published a letter to the editor by Joe Gaydos and Ginny Broadhurst & Caroline Gibson (of the Northwest Straits Commission) under the title, Forage fish could dwindle as harvest increases.
The Times limits letters to 200 words. We're sharing a slightly longer version below:
Craig Welch’s recent Seattle Times story “Increasing pressure to harvest small fish worries scientists” brings to the forefront the need to protect, monitor, and restore forage fish, the unsung heroes of the Salish Sea. Forage fish, including Pacific herring, Northern anchovy, Eulachon, Pacific sand lance, Surf smelt, and Longfin smelt, are small energy-rich fishes that feed a cadre of larger species, including birds, mammals and fishes.
Recognizing the importance of these species and the need to safeguard their abundance, the SeaDoc Society and the Northwest Straits Commission hosted a joint US – Canadian workshop in 2011 to identify research priorities and management actions needed to ensure the long-term health of forage fish in the Salish Sea.
The pivotal role that forage fish play in turning plankton into an energy-rich food source alone should warrant caution in harvesting these species. Welch points out that “fisheries for anchovies and herring are relatively small,” but a quantitative assessment of recreational and commercial harvest for these species has never been completed or compared to the “cost” of removing this resource in light of the millions of dollars being spent to recover declining species that depend on forage fish. These include salmon, many marine bird species and even southern resident orca. Are we harvesting our hand to feed our face?
We also need to evaluate whether current efforts to restore and protect important spawning sites (beaches, eelgrass beds, and even rivers in the case of Eulachon) are actually working. Human population growth, alteration of shoreline habitat and sea level rise all can threaten the reproductive capacity of these species.
These actions and science needs are called out in the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda and Biennial Science Work Plan. Pacific herring, probably the most visible and familiar of the bunch, have even been identified as a dashboard indicator to tell us about the health of Puget Sound. Unfortunately, plans are only just that until they are acted upon. The state management plan written for forage fish more than 20 years ago has been stalled by lack of funding and insufficient staff capacity to move it forward.
It is time to develop and fund a comprehensive and meaningful plan for forage fish restoration and protection throughout the Salish Sea. This requires strong leadership from federal, state and tribal governments partnering with scientists and conservation groups from both sides of border.
Fishermen, bird watchers and whale lovers are not the only people who should care about forage fish. The health of the entire Salish Sea ecosystem and our economy depend upon these unsung heroes.
-- Joseph Gaydos, Regional Director and Chief Scientist, SeaDoc Society
-- Ginny Broadhurst, Director, and Caroline Gibson, Marine Program Manager, Northwest Straits Commission
The story by Craig Welch is definitely worth reading: “New school of worry at sea,” page one, March 16.
2011 Rockfish Recovery Workshop recap
This past week (June 28 & 29, 2011) SeaDoc co-hosted a Rockfish Recovery Workshop in Seattle with the State Department of Wildlife and NOAA Fisheries.
Nearly 100 scientists, fisheries managers, fishers and SCUBA divers attended the 2-day workshop to discuss the current state of knowledge on rockfish and to identify future needs related to recovering depleted rockfish populations in the Salish Sea.
There are 28 species of rockfish in the Salish Sea. Thirteen (13) are listed as species of concern and recently 3 species were listed under the US Endangered Species Act.
In addition to helping organize the workshop, SeaDoc also helped bring in Canadians to share their perspective on what has and has not worked with rockfish recovery on the other side of the border.
A lot of the research SeaDoc funded over the last 10 years was presented and plans were laid for moving rockfish recovery forward. The meeting proceedings will be published soon and will be available here on the SeaDoc website.
In the meantime, here's a recap:
(Please note that this summary is taken from my notes and if there are errors or misstatements they are mine, not the researchers/presenters! -Joe T.)
Historical Context Session
Wayne Palsson spoke on the biology and assessment of rockfishes in Puget Sound. Rockfishes are a diverse group of species with different life histories. They require various habitat during different life stages. They are adapted for slow growth, long survival, late maturity, low natural mortality rates, and high habitat fidelity. These are all factors that make recovery tough. There's a lack of long-term data that makes it hard to create conventional age-structure population models and biomass dynamic models.
Chris Harvey reviewed the ecological history of rockfish exploitation in Puget Sound. Rockfish bones have been found in middens dating back 1,500 years. Much of the fishing pressure on rockfish began after the Boldt decision in 1974, which required that harvests in Puget Sound be coequally managed by the State government and the Treaty Tribes of Washington. It's also been influenced by demographic trends and by the promotion of the fishery by State government. (Unfortunately, as covered in Wayne Palsson's talk, it wasn't until 1982 that scientists learned that rockfish were generally 2 to 3 times longer lived than they'd thought, which meant the existing population models were not accurate.) By the time management efforts were deemed necessary, the greatest harvests had already occurred.
Anne Beaudreau discussed her work to reconstruct historical trends in rockfish abundance. The lack of data on historical populations of rockfish is a major barrier to developing sustainable fisheries. Beaudreau and colleagues interviewed 101 individuals ranging in age from 24 to 90 years to try to derive trends in the abundance of rockfish from 1940 to the present. Of particular interest was the evidence of "shifting baselines." To a statistically significant degree, each age group of respondents interpreted the conditions at the beginning of their awareness as "abundant" and saw declines from there, but what was "declining" to an older person was "abundant" to a younger person.
Benthic Habitat Surveys/Rockfish Abundance Estimates Session
Gary Greene presented the Salish Sea sea floor mapping project, which has produced bathymetric and habitat maps of the San Juan Islands area. Rockfish prefer particular habitat types, and the multibeam echosounders used by Greene and his colleagues allows these potential habitat areas to be identified. (Other participants were very interested in having these maps for other areas in the Salish Sea.
Bob Pacunski spoke on work to use non-lethal methods to survey rockfish populations. Traditional trawl or long-line sampling results in fish mortality, but using a small remotely-operated vehicle has been shown to be effective at providing population surveys.
Stressors Session
Joan Drinkwin of the Northwest Straits Foundation spoke on the threat posed to rockfish by derelict fishing gear, including both nets and traps. The Northwest Straits Initiative has removed 3,860 nets from Puget Sound, all at less than 105 feet deep. There are 950 shallow-water nets still in the water, and at least 70 in deeper water. Based on studies of net mortality by the SeaDoc Society, approximately 1,600 rockfish per year are captured and killed in derelict nets each year in the United States portion of the Salish Sea.
...More coming soon...
How to Report Derelict Fishing Gear: 855-542-3935
If you see derelict fishing gear such as ghost nets or abandoned crab pots, you can report it by calling 855-542-3935.
You can also report gear you've lost.
This is a new toll-free phone number established by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to make it easier for boaters and divers to report derelict gear.
You can also report derelict gear at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/derelict or at the Northwest Straits Conservation Initiative's special website for derelict gear: http://www.derelictgear.org.
Northwest Straits has removed more than 3,800 derelict fishing nets and over 2,000 lost crab pots from Puget Sound since 2002. Over 200,000 animals (fish, birds, marine mammals) were found entangled in the gear.
When reporting lost gear, please indicate the date of sighting, type of gear, approximate water depth, general location, and latitude and longitude if available.
Loons to be Helped by Fishing Restrictions
Lead fishing sinkers that get lost have been demonstrated to kill loons nesting on many freshwater lakes in Washington State.
Loons winter on the Salish Sea and summer and breed on inland freshwater lakes.
On December 6th the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission announced a restriction on the use of lead fishing tackle at the 13 common loon nesting lakes in Washington.
SeaDoc provided scientific information, including the Wildlife Society's position statement on lead toxicity and wildlife, to the Fish and Wildlife Commission regarding this issue.
This ban should decrease loon deaths due to lead poisoning and is good news!
From the WDFW press release:
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved restrictions on the use of lead fishing tackle at 13 lakes with nesting common loons during its Dec. 2-4 meeting in Olympia.
The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), adopted a proposal that prohibits the use of lead weights and jigs that measure 1 ½ inches or less along the longest axis at 12 lakes.
Those 12 lakes include Ferry and Swan lakes in Ferry County; Calligan and Hancock lakes in King County; Bonaparte, Blue and Lost lakes in Okanogan County; Big Meadow, South Skookum and Yocum lakes in Pend Oreille County; Pierre Lake in Stevens County; and Hozomeen Lake in Whatcom County.
In addition, the commission banned the use of flies containing lead at Long Lake in Ferry County.
The restrictions, which take effect May 1, are designed to protect loons from being poisoned by ingesting small lead fishing gear lost by anglers.
Warning: Shellfish Closure in some Washington State Counties
Shellfish harvesting has been closed in numerous Washington counties due to the presence of the marine biotoxin Alexandrium, which causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). Harvesting is closed whenever naturally occurring harmful biotoxins are detected. Once called "red tides," blooms of naturally occurring biotoxins are now more commonly referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms as there are some red algal blooms that are not harmful. Naturally occurring biotoxins like PSP are not destroyed by cooking or freezing. Please check the Washington State Department of Health for more information and each time before you harvest shellfish: http://ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mogifs/biotoxin.htm
Also see: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/422060_tide19.html
Courtesy of SeaDoc intern Sara Heidelberger.
Rockfish Recovery Plan: Your Opportunity to Comment
Vermillion Rockfish by J. Nichols
[Comments are now closed on this plan. We will update the site with information on the final plan when it's available.]
Rockfish populations are in trouble, and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is writing the first Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan.
This is a major step in protecting rockfish. Like the killer whale and salmon recovery plans, it creates a coordinated plan for recovery.
The plan is currently a draft, and comments are being accepted until January 4, 2010.
Outlook grim for North Pacific Rockfish: Rockfish Symposium, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, USA, September 25-26, 2003
Keynote Address
SeaDoc Work Featured on YouTube
Executive Director Kirsten Gilardi is featured on this UC Davis clip about the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project. She was also interviewed when a mother and calf gray whale found themselves at the port of Sacramento and had to be coaxed back to open waters.
