Fox in the Chicken Coop

Have you ever wondered why so many of these NMFS papers reflect spun data and favor the draggers? The credits of authorship of the Chinook PSC paper tells part of the story. The Fox is advising the Chickens.

On the last page of the paper it reads:

"13 Preparers
November 2010 update:
Diana Evans, NPFMC
Mike Fey, AKFIN

"Other contributors:
Sally Bibb, NMFS, Alaska Region
*Julie Bonney, Groundupfish Databunk (dragger mouthpiece extraordinaire)
Melanie Brown, NMFS, Alaska Region
Mary Furuness, NMFS, Alaska Region
Mary Grady, NMFS Alaska Region
Jeannie Heltzel, NPFMC
Josh Keaton, NMFS, Alaska Region
Martin Loefflad, NMFS, AFSC
John Olson, NMFS Alaska Region
Diana Stram, NPFMC"

FOR PETE'S SAKE! There is no independent data from that quarter! NMFS has so little credibility, why would they squander it with DATABUNK?

Keep yer flippers wet.

Of Chinook and 800 Pound Gorillas

A large proportion of the at least 60,000 Prohibited Species Catch of Chinook in the Gulf of Alaska are likely to be Treaty Chinook from the rivers of British Columbia, or perhaps the Pacific Northwest or even the Sacramento River, in California. The responsible agency (NMFS) has been remiss in not requiring full retention and genetic sampling of all Chinook PSC in the GOA to determine their origin. What little trial sampling that has been done is well buried in some archive somewhere. More important than Kodiak's Karluk or the Aiakulik, whose run failures are catastrophic, these migrating salmon from elsewhere are the 8oo pound gorilla in the room. 'Outside' interests may be able to help outraged Alaskans finally control the rampant and irresponsible dragger PSC bycatch waste. Help! Call and write your representatives in Victoria, Ottawa, Olympia, Salem, Sacramento, and DC today! Awaken your 800 pound gorilla and get him fighting for all of us.

And keep yer flippers wet.

NPFMC Meets December 8-14, Make Your Voice Heard

If you have been following the egregious Prohibited Species Catch by Gulf of Alaska trawlers of Chinook salmon then this meeting is for you. Attend by Webinar if you can not attend in person, but most importantly, let the NPFMC hear from you in writing regarding the wholesale destruction of the Chinook salmon resource by GOA trawlers. Trawlers in the GOA take ten times as many Chinook in proportion to pollock as do the trawlers in the Bering Sea, yet there is no cap, no limit, no attempts by management for restraint in the Gulf of Alaska.

NPFMC website: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/default.htm

"Written comments and materials to be included in Council meeting notebooks must be received at the Council office by 5:00 pm (Alaska Time) on TUESDAY November 30, 2010. Written and oral comments should include a statement of the source and date of information provided as well as a brief description of the background and interests of the person(s) submitting the statement. Comments can be sent by mail or fax—please do not submit comments by e-mail." (courtesy of NPFMC)

"The following points may be useful in composing your letter:
• The Council has taken action to control the bycatch of Chinook salmon in the Bering Sea by placing a ‘cap’ on the number of Chinooks allowed to be taken. However, the Council has taken no action in the Gulf of Alaska.
• The rate of Chinook bycatch (salmon per ton of groundfish) is over 10 times that taken in the Bering Sea.
• Subsistence, sport and commercial salmon fishermen bear the conservation responsibility through reduced harvest. Groundfish fisheries have not been required to share that responsibility.
• Chinook stocks in Kodiak’s Karluk River have continued to decline during the years 2001- 2010. The stocks have also failed to meet escapement goals for the last four of those years. Chinook salmon on the Karluk River has been CLOSED to subsistence for the last 3 years and sport fishing for the 2009 and 2010 seasons for conservation reasons. ADF&G has recommended that the Board of Fish declare the Karluk River Chinook as a ‘Stock of concern’.
• For the commercial fishery the BOF prohibits the retention of Chinook salmon over a certain size in the outer Karluk district.
• Chinook bycatch is not particularly well estimated in the Gulf because there is not 100% observer coverage in the groundfish fisheries. Estimates are based on assumptions that observed and unobserved vessels are doing the same thing. There is sufficient reason to question those assumptions.
• Low returns of Chinook salmon to the Karluk, Aiakulik and other systems in the Gulf of Alaska have had a negative economic impact on both the guided sport and charter boat industries." (courtesy of AMCC Action Alert)

Address your letters to:
Mr. Eric Olson, Chair
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council
PO Box 103136
Anchorage, Alaska 99510
FAX: 907-271-2817

NPFMC Agenda: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/Agendas/1210Agenda.pdf

Two agenda items need your attention and comment:

C-5 GOA Chinook Salmon Bycatch (4 hrs)
Review discussion paper.

D-1 Groundfish Management (8 hrs)
(b) Review discussion paper on GOA halibut PSC.

The discussion papers regarding Chinook and halibut PSC should be available on line at the end of this week or so. Stay tuned to the NPFMC website for your copy. As always there is not a lot of time for review and comment. (This helps keep outsiders from participating in the process.)

Keep your flippers wet.

Wiglaf Unmasked...er...Not!

Anchorage Daily News paper edition reported that Wiglaf of Tholepin is...some sport fisher... Not!

The Anchorage Daily News doesn't know a dingle bar from a tickler chain, so they credit some guy with the work found here. Don't get me wrong, ADN means well, but Wiglaf expresses the informed professional opinion of a relatively large group of concerned commercial fishing sealions, so no single individual can be named as the responsible author. You know what they say, all sealions look alike. We are still here and not identified. Eat yer heart out!

We remember the cod end drownings and the shootings and the woundings, and have recently received plenty of threats, so it is important that we remain anonymous.

But thanks, anyway.

Keep yer flipper's wet!

Get Ready for Rollbacks

NMFS rolls back the Chinook bycatch...which is like a guy taking back the confession that he's been with his best friend's wife...not very believable.



From 59,000 down to 51,916. There you are.

When you publish a 'fact' you can't take it back. There must be some pressure to make the number crunchers recount their beans. The Alaska Ground-Up-Fish Data Bank has been busy, eh?

Are we surprised? No. This is the way the shell game works. Now you see it, now you don't.

Keep yer flippers wet.