Orca ‘study’

[ratherbefishin]

Not enough fish,whales starving ....too many fish,whales starving...they now say that there are too many pinks which interferes with the orcas echolocation which the use to locate Chinook..the federal government has pledged another $60 million( thats about $800,000 for each and every individual resident orca)Not that the orcas are endangered, the northern orcas are thriving,both resident and transient..

[Phila]

Federal election in October

[ratherbefishin]

Doesn’t seem to matter who gets in,liberal or conservative,none of them seem to care about the future of recreational salmon fishing ,other than to collect licence fees.This is the worst winter Spring ( feeders)fishing I have ever seen ,the fish weren’t big but it used to be very abundant and predictable .Not now.....we only got two hits and two in the boat...one maybe a couple of pounds,barely legal and the other maybe 4( both hatchery)stuff we used to release.This does not bode well for the summer runs

[elknut]

I like Orca's but.......The ocean is full of fish ...If the resident Orca's can"t adapt and change their feeding habits then let Darwin prove his theory ....With the human population to double in 40 years if you think they are in trouble now ....Wait till then..Too much love for predators and they can't manage nothing..Need more hatcheries ......culling of seals and seal lions ..also stop the harvest of herring roe ...Not much else can be done in my humble opinion ....Dennis

[DR.DOUG]

^^^^ well said!

[ratherbefishin]

The politically correct doomsday boys ( who live off studies) don’t mention that the northern orcas are not endangered,they are thriving,and one theory is they are intercepting the Chinook destined to feed the southern residents...anybody who has fished off Sooke knows orcas aren’t scared off by boats,they cannot me though the fleet regularly. But one thing is evident, we need more Chinook in the system,and that means hatcheries and stream enhancement,plus seal/ sea lion culls

[scoutlt1]

Maybe the "Southern" Orcas are just sick and tired of being around the many dumbass, greenie, politically correct, latte-drinking humans that inhabit Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle.
If I had to swim by UBC, Suzuki's house, and UVIC every now and then, I'd want to puke up my last meal as well....

Oh and here's a thought.....maybe shoot a few seals every now and then!

[ratherbefishin]

No,we don’t ‘shoot seals’we sensitively and humanly euthanize them...seal and sea lion populations have burgeoned 6 fold since they were protected..and guess what? They eat salmon....lots of salmon

[Wild one]

It would be interesting to know the factors that are involved in pink populations increasing well springs are declining

This really makes me wonder if we are missing something

[ratherbefishin]

True,some species are in abundance,why?-is it feed?spawning ground?ocean survival?commercial fishing ? years ago the coho were imploding,they have come back to some degree.

[303savage]

.also stop the harvest of herring roe Good idea because just about everything that lives in the salt water eat herring or needle fish.

[ElectricDyck]

I like "Orca", so much more positive than "Killer Whale"..gives me the warm and fuzzies inside!

[ratherbefishin]

I think pinks mainly eat plantation and other small stuff,whereas coho and chinooks eat herring

[dmaxtech]

I think pinks mainly eat plantation and other small stuff,whereas coho and chinooks eat herring

BINGO!! We have a Winner!!!

[ratherbefishin]

We’re seeing lots of bait on the screen, so not sure what exactly is the problem...they could shut down the herring fishery though, it’s not the big money maker it used to be ($6000 a ton down to $150) so it wouldn’t be any big loss to the industry and might increase the Chinook population and maybe even the average size which is way down ( the once common 30-40 pound fish are now teens and 20’s)