Posted by Dave Hurley
on 2/11/2008, 6:50 am
76.20.97.22
A Job Well Done
Coastal port businesses are going to be decimated by this year's salmon
closure. The ripple effect is not just the 100s millions lost by businesses
directly related to fishing. It's all the other related businesses from hotels to
campgrounds to boat manufactures to repair shops as well. The ripple effect will
be huge and 1000s of people will lose their jobs and businesses because of it.
I would bet that not one manager at Fish and Game, the Department of Water
Resources or The Bureau of Reclamation loses their job. So long as they keep
their mouths shut they will be on the fast track to a promotion.
This is certainly Cal Fish and Game's finest hour. They with the PFMC close
deep water rockfishing putting all the pressure on the nearshore stocks and
then take most of that away due to over fishing. DUH.... when you take away 80
percent of the fishable area other areas are going to see an increase in
pressure. I say open up other areas and deep waters to fishing. Yes, a few canary
rockfish will be lost in the process but some early studies are showing that
populations are bouncing back decades quicker than anticipated on the south coast.
F&G turns a blind eye to huge water diversions out of the delta that destroy
our salmon and striper fisheries. All the while never stepping up and doing
their job which is to protect and manage our fisheries and wildlife.
In their Feather River hatchery alone they have cut production back from 25
million to just 12 million salmon fry and then release most without the use of
acclimation pens so most are eaten by predators within the first day. They
have said that they will have multiple releases sites and pens at each this year
but only after that story got out to the media. We need to be INCREASING
hatchery production right now!
F&G never reviewed a BOR fish salvage plan on Prospect Island and then
threaten volunteers with citations or arrest when they move in to rescue 1000s if
stranded fish (again, they relented once the story got into the mainstream
media). Other than a warden and a biologist "overseeing" they didn't have anyone
from the department on site assisting in the rescue. That's the equivalent of
the fire department standing by while civilians put out a four alarm fire.
F&G has patrol boats, some worth well over a million dollars tied up in
berths for months, sometimes years because they don't have enough wardens to staff
them or they are broken down due to lack of maintenance and being run
unprofessionally. Their budget almost certainly includes the purchase or more boats
this year but who is going to run them? Sell a couple of boats and hire a few
more wardens. Why are the boats staffed with mostly wardens? Hire a couple of
out of work party boat skippers to run them for you. At the very least you won't
be blowing up engines that cost over$100K to replace.
And now the Terminator is trying to push through a canal that will surely
decimate all fisheries connected to the Delta and Fish and Game managers say
nothing. Why? If they did the Terminator would certainly put them on the same list
as Sara Conner.
My only question is when are some if these incompetent managers going to be
fired? If you or I were responsible for the death of a few dozen fish (say due
to an industrial spill or a few canary or salmon hidden in the boat) we would
be put on trial and get a free pass to our very own the Fish and Game dog and
pony show. Why aren't the managers of BOR, BWR and F&G held to the same
standard and laws as the public? Surely their decisions have killed millions of
sport fish in just the past few years. They get rewarded with six figure salaries
and are never held responsible which certainly looks to be the MIS-management
of our fisheries and water resources. In that respect they are doing a GREAT
JOB!
Good Luck!
Mike
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