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09/02/2009: "Hey! I Need That Salmon!"

(Orca & fishing boat in proposed No-Go-Zone -J. Maya photo)

The commercial fishing fleet of the treaty tribes will be exempt from the proposed NOAA No-Go-Zone, and this has added fuel to the controversy the proposal has created.

For the last week or so, the commercial fishing fleet has fished from sunrise until well after sunset all along the Westside of San Juan Island, netting tons and tons of salmon.

According to one observer, “So many salmon have been taken that two huge processing vessels have been working with the purse seines to off load their catch allowing the purse seines to resume setting their nets.”


One of those that will be banned if the proposal goes through as presented, are, of course, whale watching boats. The irony of allowing the treaty fisherman to set their nets to catch the salmon needed by the orca, but banning all other boats, fishing or otherwise, does not set well with them.

Ross Brown lives on the west side, is an avid sports fisherman, and is one of those shaking his head over the seeming contradictions of the proposal. Ross sent in an email to The Island Guardian, stating “Outrageous does not begin to describe the stupidity of allowing commercial fishing to continue while making the effort to protect the three resident pods of Orcas” said Ross.

The photos used in this report were taken by James Maya, who also questioned the proposal, stating: “ So, NOAA is going to ban kayaks on the West Side of San Juan Island, but will let this go on! The Super Pod today was off of the West Side of San Juan Island, swimming through ships that are taking their salmon. Hmmm. And NOAA wants to ban kayaks, but will let purse seiners run over the Orcas and take their salmon. What's wrong with this picture?”



The problem results from the simple fact defining one of those exempted: treaty tribes. Some of the treaties with the Native Americans give them fishing rights for the rights they once gave up, and those treaties have been challenged and upheld by the courts, and are not likely to go away by simply passing a new NOAA regulation.