Sounding the Alarm Once Again
Sometimes I feel like a broken record. I talk and write all the time about people trying to take away our access as recreational anglers. Well, once again we need to get involved and become pro-active to save our access to the most precious and productive fishing grounds in the State of Washington. Hopefully someday, as we become more involved and organized as recreational anglers the state will finally start considering us when it comes to making decisions. Politicians will start recognizing what an important voting block we are and maybe the WDFW will remember who it was that has fought for them and their budget. If you remember, this last legislative session it was proposed that WDFW to be absorbed by DNR, we were the ones that went to bat for WDFW. That's what makes this one so frustrating.
Last year, newly appointed commissioner David Jennings proposed setting aside Neah Bay as a marine reserve for non-consumptive use. Commissioner Jennings is a diver and was appointed by Governor Gregoire to represent the wildlife viewing community. While I certainly do not have issue with recreational divers and people that love to view wildlife in it's natural habitat, I do have issue with people like this that want to take away access to my pastime. Recreational divers and fisherman have been getting along just fine out at Neah Bay forever and there is no reason for that to change. Commissioner Jennings proposal to make this area a dive park and use the excuse of threatened rockfish populations to do so is disingenuous at best. The worst part of all of this is that after this proposal was struck down during the rule making process, WDFW went ahead and formed an ad hoc committee and give this ridiculous idea even more attention. In a year where the WDFW budget has been cut for the second time in as many years, the department is spending taxpayer money to hold these ridiculous meetings and then put on three public meetings to discuss what options we have. This is a terrible waste of resources and it is all being done to appease commissioner Jennings.
The other side of this whole idea of refusing access to the recreational angler that frustrates and angers so many is that the area just saw a reduced bag limit, a limit placed on the number of species that can be retained, and a depth restriction limit that essentially creates an enormous MPA for all waters deeper than 120ft. These changes to area 4b were just enacted this spring and have not been given time to be evaluated. That is of course if there really is a need to evaluate this area. To hear the environmentalist community talk, we are in a major crises and about to loose all populations of fish if we don't do something. This kind of talk is another tool in the tool box of the environmental community to create an immediate crises that we have to do something about today. Unfortunately, many people just here some extrapolated facts and buy in without doing any backround or research. By working the public into a frenzy, these groups derive their funding and moving from one so called "crises" to the next becomes their mission.
Unfortunately, these groups just keep coming at us and we have to stay diligent. We have to answer the call when called upon. The goal of many of these organizations is to have 20% of our waters shut off to fishing through a series of MPA's. The problem is that this proposed closure is not being proposed as a proposed series of anything but a grab of one of the recreational anglers favorite and most productive areas.
Don't get me wrong, I do believe in conservation and being a responsible steward of our planet. Nothing makes me more angry than when I see abuses of our natural environment. That being said, I also believe that our natural resources are here for consumptive uses but if those uses become abusive and limits are in order then so be it. I can and do support many management methods aimed at recovery. What I have a hard time with is arbitrary restrictions that are not based on sound science. These types of management decisions do very little in the way of recovery. I believe that recovery should be scientifically based and have a scientifically measurable outcome. I do not believe in doing things for the sake of doing things and hoping it turns out alright.
I do not believe that there has been shown to be a need for a closure in Area 4b.
As mentioned earlier, we have recently seen restrictions added in that area even though it has remained very productive. The departments evidence is anything but complete or conclusive and more evidence is coming out daily that throws into question any science that is offered. One recent study shows that in closed areas where lingcod are present, rockfish recovery does not happen due to predation from lingcod. This is something that has been speculated on with regards to Marine mammals as well. We also keep hearing about china and tiger rockfish but NOAA just denied a petition by one activists stating that the "petition does not present substantial scientific information". Another example of incomplete science is the REEF study that is going on in Neah Bay right now. The department cites information provided by REEF all the time and while I applaud many of the volunteers associated with REEF they are only diving down to 60ft to make population assessments of rockfish in area 4b. Although valuable to some degree, this does not represent complete science. It will be interesting to see how this information is used in the future.
We have four options when it comes to Neah Bay Area 4b. Status Quo and alternatives 1-3. Status-quo still leaves in place the restrictions that were added in the rules proposals this past spring but does nothing else. Alternative 1 further reduces the bag limit of bottomfish but at least it does close the commercial long line bottomfish fishery. Alternatives 2 and 3 both include closures throughout Area 4b and severely limit access for recreational anglers.
What I am asking is that you take the time to email Ami Hollingsworth of WDFW and give written comments on which proposal you would like to see enacted. I will be requesting that status-quo remain with maybe an add-in from alternative 1 to close the long line fishery. Ami can be reached at Ami.Hollingsworth@dfw.wa.gov and as always be respectful.
