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crazy4salmon
Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Posts: 63 City/Region: Bellingham
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2006
C-Dory Model: 23 Venture
Vessel Name: C-Therapy
Photos: C-Therapy
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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Wish our whales would start feeding on seals. Way too many out there and that would help the salmon population. My brother counted over 100 seals in front of his place feeding on the herring that were spawning in the tide flats.
Sure, I will go there. We need to get our natives to stop netting the rivers. When the fish are in the Nooksack, there is no way for them to make it past Ferndale. It is like a zipper of nets for the first 5 miles. Not to mention many more up stream to catch the lucky ones that actually got past.
We need to ALL be part of the solution. My license fees go to help our hatchery's and fish enhancement. Every year our opportunity shrinks and I am very close to not fishing in Washington state anymore. I am pretty sure, that is what the state wants. I sure hope the 80 dollars I spend on my license covers the 10 fish I catch a year.
Get the nets out, eat some seals and in 4 years there will be salmon everywhere for all the mammals. |
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2019 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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crazy4salmon wrote: | Wish our whales would start feeding on seals. Way too many out there and that would help the salmon population. My brother counted over 100 seals in front of his place feeding on the herring that were spawning in the tide flats. |
The pinniped population if out of control...nature is imbalanced. Every expert I've ever read or listened to says they need to be culled. It will never happen. Boaters & fishermen will continue to be vilified. Expect more regs, less freedom and more taxes. It's "how they roll" in the PNW. _________________ "We can go over there...behind the 'little one'....."
Wife to her husband pointing @ us...from the bow of their 50-footer; Prideaux Haven 2013 |
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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JamesTXSD
Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 7447 City/Region: from island boy to desert dweller
State or Province: AZ
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: "Wild Blue" (sold 9/14)
Photos: Wild Blue
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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if this were to pass, it would effectively eliminate the whale watch industry in San Juan County, keeping the boats 650 yards (approx 1/3 of a mile away) will drive away the tourists who come to see whales. That is thousands of visitors and a huge chunk of the economy of the area... people come to see the whales - those people stay in hotels and eat in restaurants; rent mopeds, bicycles, and cars; buy groceries; shop in all the shops and galleries. Jobs will whither.
There is a small, but well-funded (and connected), group that would like to see all boats go away from the west side of San Juan Island. That is where this push is coming from.
The whales and boats have co-existed for decades. You don't have to be a scientist to understand that the issue with the Southern Resident Killer Whales is the decimation of their food source (salmon). You are not going to "re-train them" to eat marine mammals, their salmon diet is in their DNA.
People are looking for a "bad guy" in this, (and the whale watch boats are certainly NOT the bad guys)... it is easier to see the whale watch boats and jump to that ridiculous conclusion because you can't "see" how the salmon population has been decimated.
I haven't driven a whale watch boat for two years now, so I don't have a dog in this fight. I love the Pacific Northwest, the character of the San Juan Islands and their residents (the people who live there), and all the spectacular wildlife there.
The SRKW whales have not been in the area for almost 2 months, staying out in the Pacific looking for food. I read that they have been spotted off the BC coast, so I hope that means they will come back into the Salish Sea... of course, that depends on their food source. In the meantime, I understand that the whale watch operators have seen more transient Killer Whales (the mammal eaters) than in the past.
My experience has been: people come to the San Juans hoping to see Orcas, believing that the SRKW "hang out" in the area. No doubt that word "Resident" in their name leads people to think that is where the Orcas "live." But, those same people are delighted to see transient KWs, although they are generally a bit less surface active than the Residents. The transient Orcas are doing fine - their food source (marine mammals: seals, sea lions, harbor porpoise, Minke whales) is plentiful.
More than you wanted to know? If you like to boat, sight-see, fish, cruise in the San Juans, the potential threat to your boating enjoyment there is real. When working there, it was an every-day occurrence to see boats (almost always recreational boats) get too close to the whales; rarely was that a commercial operator. NOAA and WDFW are funded and the potential for an accidental "close encounter" with this proposed distance change is much greater.
It's the food. (sigh) |
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | That is thousands of visitors and a huge chunk of the economy of the area... people come to see the whales - those people stay in hotels and eat in restaurants; rent mopeds, bicycles, and cars; buy groceries; shop in all the shops and galleries. Jobs will whither. |
Amen. But again...it is western WA... |
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dotnmarty
Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 4196 City/Region: Sammamish
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 1993
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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The governor's name is Inslee. I don't appreciate the cheap shot. _________________ MartyP
"...we're all in the same boat..." |
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dotnmarty
Joined: 03 Nov 2003 Posts: 4196 City/Region: Sammamish
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 1993
C-Dory Model: 16 Angler
Vessel Name: LIZZIE II
Photos: Lizzie
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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Who are you quoting who said "I don't like your liberties,..."etc? |
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:37 am Post subject: |
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[quote="dotnmarty"] localboy wrote: | New rules in Puget Sound. Governor InsLIE will sign them...
The governor's name is Inslee. I don't appreciate the cheap shot. |
Cheap? No. I think the word you are looking for is ACCURATE. |
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rogerbum
Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 5922 City/Region: Kenmore
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2008
C-Dory Model: 255 Tomcat
Vessel Name: Meant to be
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Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 9:37 am Post subject: |
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[quote="localboy"] dotnmarty wrote: | localboy wrote: | New rules in Puget Sound. Governor InsLIE will sign them...
The governor's name is Inslee. I don't appreciate the cheap shot. |
Cheap? No. I think the word you are looking for is ACCURATE. |
I think the word is unnecessary. Let's please try to leave our personal political opinions elsewhere. They don't belong on a boating web site and they do little but elicit trouble. _________________ Roger on Meant to be |
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localboy
Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 4656 City/Region: Lake Stevens via Honolulu
State or Province: WA
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: 'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Photos: 'AU KAI
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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https://mynorthwest.com/1453200/whale-watching-company-lawsuit-orcas/?show=comments#comments
Quote: | “They could let their passengers know that the southern residents are starving to death,” said North. “So, they’re going to leave those whales alone so they can hunt and forage in peace.” |
Passengers? What passengers? If her “idea(ology)” passes, there won’t be any passengers. This is merely another ploy to reach their ultimate goal of no boats allowed around the San Juan Islands, period. The proverbial foot in the door technique so well established in this region. |
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JamesTXSD
Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 7447 City/Region: from island boy to desert dweller
State or Province: AZ
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: "Wild Blue" (sold 9/14)
Photos: Wild Blue
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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localboy wrote: | https://mynorthwest.com/1453200/whale-watching-company-lawsuit-orcas/?show=comments#comments
Quote: | “They could let their passengers know that the southern residents are starving to death,” said North. “So, they’re going to leave those whales alone so they can hunt and forage in peace.” |
Passengers? What passengers? If her “idea(ology)” passes, there won’t be any passengers. This is merely another ploy to reach their ultimate goal of no boats allowed around the San Juan Islands, period. The proverbial foot in the door technique so well established in this region. |
Reading the comments on that article makes it apparent that people who don't have a clue still feel the need to give their opinion. I find this situation potentially scary for anyone who operates a boat in San Juan County. Not just a commercial boat... any boat.
The commercial whale watch operators have a major stake in seeing the survival of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. These are the people who are out there everyday and understand the plight of the SRKW. A critically dwindling food source will lead to the extinction of these animals.
If you drive by a farm and see emaciated horses with their ribs showing, it is clear that they need food... the cars driving by are not the problem. Closing the road by the farm will make no difference - those animals need food.
The physiology of the Orca make it hard for the average person to see that they are undernourished. Add in the toxicity in the water (from plastics, PCBs, fertilizer run-off, etc), and it is a double whammy.
This situation, and a proposed "solution" that will do nothing, makes my heart hurt for these unique mammals. |
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ssobol
Joined: 27 Oct 2012 Posts: 3386 City/Region: SW Michigan
State or Province: MI
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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The new law seems to be all about the effect of boats on the whales (e.g. sound disturbance, stress from crowding).
Perhaps the problem is the effect of all the boats on the salmon. Whatever salmon that are left, hear a bunch of boats and go somewhere else.
Either way the boats are a problem, but maybe the effect is on the fish, not the whales.
Quote: | If you drive by a farm and see emaciated horses with their ribs showing, it is clear that they need food... the cars driving by are not the problem. Closing the road by the farm will make no difference - those animals need food. |
If the cars driving by are preventing the horses from crossing the road to the field of hay on the other side, then cars ARE the problem and closing the road probably will help.
The problem here is figuring out what exactly is the cause of the whales' problem and finding a solution to that. It seems that right now people are just guessing. |
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JamesTXSD
Joined: 01 Mar 2005 Posts: 7447 City/Region: from island boy to desert dweller
State or Province: AZ
C-Dory Year: 2007
C-Dory Model: 25 Cruiser
Vessel Name: "Wild Blue" (sold 9/14)
Photos: Wild Blue
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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The difference between the horse and Orca analogy is the Orca are not captive - there is nothing preventing them from going where they want. Now, if the horses could burrow under the road at will, and there is no food there, it might be a fair comparison.
The SRKW have been gone from the Salish Sea most of this season. The reason: the salmon run was 7% of normal (yes, down 93%) when we were last in the San Juans. I have no figure on what it might be this season, but I'm sure some of the PNW fishermen here could chime in on that.
The SRKW are well researched. The toxicity level of these animals is the reason there is such a high infant mortality rate (the mothers pass the toxicity on to their newborn). The males have a shorter lifespan because they have no way to dispel any of that toxicity. Those are facts, not guesses. Same with the greatly diminished food source.
There is research on boat noise, but nothing definitive either way. In Haro Strait, the water depths can run 800 to over 1,000'; deep water runs right up to the shoreline on most of the west side of San Juan Island - if the whales were feeling stressed by boats (the commercial operators are either not running or running at speeds less than 7 knots when within a half mile of the Orcas), it would be easy for them to dive and move away. Based on years of daily experience, that isn't happening. Boats are not impeding the whales' movement... it isn't like corralling a horse. Commercial operators are being watched by NOAA, WDFW, and all kinds of people from shore... if there is bad behavior on the water, there will be consequences. Nobody wants that. |
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Missynme
Joined: 23 Jul 2017 Posts: 12 City/Region: Snohomish
State or Province: WA
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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If you have the patience to listen to the 56 minute video it addresses many of the above issues but on science not opinion. I have no patience for 56 minutes but it captured my attention twice as we are so often played by propaganda like cats to lasers.
The Truth about Orcas, Seals and Chinook: A PSF Presentation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zz8aEAg7dI |
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