Re: Government of Canada protects two new areas off British Columbia’s coast for Orca
I agree there is a lot of seals and sealions. but i am on the water every day in barkly sound during the summer and i do see seals eating salmon on the surface , but it is entirely just salmon they took from a fisherman. these salmon are easy for them to catch.
I do see sealions eating salmon, but it is almost exclusively in september.
I do know you can not fish for cod near seals or sealions because they will eat your cod before it gets to the boat.
My conclusion is seals and sealions eat a lot of easy to catch cod and of course they eat some salmon.
"By 1997, 62 per cent of the Sarita watershed had been logged, including 97 per cent of the flood plain. As a result, the river is twice as wide as it once was in the lower river sections."
“When we logged years ago, a lot of the side channels were affected and, with that, a lot of our salmon habitat was destroyed,” explains Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor Robert J. Dennis Sr. “Now if you go around touring our land you will see our own people out working on these streams, restoring and renewing that habitat so that our salmon come back – so that they have a place in our rivers.”
This may be true, but you will also see western forest products clear cutting the last 2 percent of the old growth that is left. they have been contracted to do this on the huu ay aht treaty land and on the forest tenure the huu ay aht have as well. these lands are basically 100 percent of the sarita watershed. Is conclusion nothing has changed in the industry.
"With its history of extensive logging, the forest within the watersheds is mostly a mix of second-growth fir, spruce, hemlock, and cedar. Approximately two per cent is classified as old-growth. Historically, riparian habitats in the Sarita and Pachena watershed were dominated by large conifers that shaded and protected stream banks and provided a source of large woody debris. Early logging along the water courses within the Sarita watershed left little or no riparian habitat unaltered and also affected are the wetlands in the area."
As for the "riparian habitats in the Sarita" They to are being logged and the same rules apply as it diod in 1997, a buffer it to be left, but as it is pointed out to the huu ay aht, a single old growth tree in the riparian has a far greater value then the meager fine they would receive if they are caught taking it. so the economics make sense to take the tree and pay the fine/tax.
Back to the food for the Orca, this statement says it well. "the river is twice as wide as it once was" This is creating a real problem in the rivers, all rivers, the gravel is shifting and moving way to much, it is filling up the rivers causing near 0 habitat for baby salmon to survive and near zero future native salmon to return to the sea, meaning no food for the Orca, blame the fisherman and the seals and do not get me started on the dead zone and its affect on salmon. kill the seals and eliminate the fisherman, but do not affect the share holders bottom line. Market Summary > Western Forest Products Inc
Re: Government of Canada protects two new areas off British Columbia’s coast for Orca
If we don't start to address all of the problems
you can reclaim the spawning grounds until you are blue in the face and it won't save the salmon
There is a list of things that together might help reclaim our salmon populations
It's not rocket science
how about
over harvesting
spawning grounds
predetors
herring
fish farming
And the list goes on
the stupid thing here is we can fix all these problems!
we are trying to keep to many people happy at the expense of our salmon stocks
Re: Government of Canada protects two new areas off British Columbia’s coast for Orca
The issues facing salmon are many, and I agree with most of what has been posted here in that regard.
It wasn't simply "historic" logging practices that played havoc with the instream/river habitats. You have to look no further than the nightmare occurring up at Nahmint to understand VERY LITTLE HAS CHANGED in the way they wrest their money from the forest. Right now they are cutting right to the waterline up there, and major sluffing has already commenced as a consequence. The logging companies do not care. The government does not care. Regulations are ignored while the government insists the companies are doing a "fine job" of self regulation. The entire process is a bloody mess. And that is creating even more problems on top of the existing issues as far as habitat destruction goes.
Roads, cities, towns and more. The Log It Then Pave It mentality has won the day in one hell of a lot of the salmon's former range. Long gone are a huge number of the creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes that once supported them. And none of that is ever likely to come back...
Recent studies well indicate that the exploding populations of seals and sea lions are removing an immense number of salmon from the system as a whole. Both when they wander out (smolts) and when they return (spawners). In addition, more efforts are underway to numerate their effects in the open ocean, and the initial findings are grim. Blanket protection of these species was a huge mistake. Continuing that even larger of a mistake. Everything comes with a trade-off. In this instance, greatly diminished salmon populations WILL be the result if nothing is done to bring these predators into balance in terms of realistic numbers.
Fishing too has had an impact. But the days of huge commercial takes are chiefly gone (especially so with chinook (springs). Today, the largest harvest of springs in the salt chuck is taken by the recreational sector. Been that way for quite a few years now. But even so, the combined harvests of both commercial & recreational sectors is less than 1/10th of that taken by seals and sea lions.
The "elephant in the room" in this case is the huge amount of harvests in-river by FN's. Despite area closures, fleet reductions, slot size impositions, and limit reductions in order to address "stocks of concern", the government actually INCREASED the number of "legal" openings for FN's to fish these same stocks once they hit the river this past year. Insanity at it's finest. Then of course there are the quasi and downright illegal fisheries occurring - again on the same stocks. Until they adjust that effort to what the stocks can actually handle, this will continue to reduce their overall numbers and do so in a rapid fashion.
Fishing has played another role as well. Even though not directed on the stocks in question, those fisheries which target their food sources has had very serious impacts. The herring fishery was and is still managed on a fish them until they show signs they can't handle it (huge reductions in n numbers), close it a while and hope it rebuilds, rinse and repeat. Herring, pilchards, krill, damn near everything our salmon eat is under attack in one form or another. For the sole reason of fattening a few already bulging pockets. Complete travesty that must end if we are to make any progress in this matter. You simply cannot survive when the grocery shelves are being swept empty before you get there...
Competition at sea is another factor, one largely ignored by most. Alaska (and Russia, And China, And Japan) now "ranch" salmon numbers in the BILLIONS! There are only so many resources to be shared out there, and the competition from these clones is having a drastic and negative effect on the survival of "wild" stocks.
Fish farms also play a role. A myriad of problems with improper site placements, introducing viruses, increasing use of antibiotics etc, and exploding sea lice populations that now exhibit a strong tolerance for the pesticides used to control them.
Canada has long since nearly abandoned it's hatchery programs for salmon. Yes, a few still exist. Running on archaic management designs, and producing exponentially less numbers than they are capable of. This was intentional - as DFO decided to run with a "wild first" policy, and chose to ignore all other science while doing so. The effect of that is obvious to anyone who spends any time out there. Our runs are in serious trouble by and large. The augmented US runs have become the backbone of "our" fishery, because they have the numbers. Time for DFO to get over itself, and get on with producing the maximum the hatcheries possibly can.
And that, right there, is likely the largest stumbling block to salmon recovery there is. DFO has well proven itself entirely incompetent in terms of any real management. Failure after failure after failure on their watch has now become the accepted norm.
In the interest of our salmon, the complete dismantling of this corrupt, self serving ministry is long overdue. Strip the senior bureaucrats from their lofty positions in Kent street, and start all over again with a management program based on SCIENCE, and not some nitwits' ideas formulated to appease their political masters from behind a computer screen on the far side of the country!
So, as noted, yep, our salmon are indeed in trouble. It is time to get on with addressing that issue (or rather the myriad of issues involved). If we don't, and don't soon, we will eventually lose them.
I hope I am NOT alive to witness that if it ever comes down to it.
All of that said, the focus of this thread is DFO's Knee Jerk Reaction to the Orca situation. As the video posted a few pages back well indicates, this is being blown out of proportion. The southern Killer Whales are still within historic population tolerances (although facing increased pressure themselves). The Northern variety has never had it so good, and their numbers continue to rise each and every single passing year. BUT... The Sky Is Falling, and of course the government MUST be seen as doing something. To date that something has been to increase restrictions (upon restrictions upon restrictions) on fishing efforts. First the commercial fleet which now stands in shambles, a swiftly dying entity that well recognizes the sunset nature of their involvement. And now the sporties, taking hit after hit as they are today's "low hanging fruit".
None of that will make a hill of beans of difference. Were the REAL focus to be increasing salmon numbers to then increase Orca numbers, serious, dedicated and focused programs to address everything described above would have to be undertaken, like yesterday. This government, like so many previous to that, has neither the time, the inclination, nor the money for any of it. Far easier to impose a few more restrictions, stand back and say Look - We're Trying.
No actually, they are NOT.
Nog
Last edited by IronNoggin; 01-04-2019 at 12:02 PM.
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Re: Government of Canada protects two new areas off British Columbia’s coast for Orca
Re: Government of Canada protects two new areas off British Columbia’s coast for Orca
