stances surrounding several runs of salmon, CCA Washington remains hopeful that NOAAwill reconsider the need to seriously confront the mortality of ESA-listed species by derelict gear wherever it occurs. “To say that it is not practical to assign a specific level of mortality to derelict gear, given cost and difficulties in monitoring is inexcusable,” said Bryan Irwin, executive director of CCA Pacific Northwest. “We will continue working with the WDFW and tribal co- managers on the issue in order to find a way to get those nets out of the Nooksack and other local rivers.” In March of 2011, I had the honor of guiding a Department of Fish and Wildlife and Nooksack tribal officer on a sun-filled day to search for nets. We braved low flows, gravel bars and tons of log jams to cover more than 20 river miles, from just south of the confluence of the North, Middle and South forks down to the mouth. On that patrol, which was the third of three patrols on
10
Just like their
ocean-going cousins, river ghost nets won’t just simply go away.
the river this year by the WDFW and Nooksack Tribe, 10 nets were removed and five additional nets were docu- mented, bringing the total for the year to 27 documented and removed nets. Another area on the bottom half of the river near the Lummi reservation, how- ever, revealed an alarming graveyard of buried and abandoned nets lining the banks. “Without the efforts of the local WDFW law enforcement staff, the sup- port of the Nooksack tribe and count- less hours of CCA volunteers all work- ing together, the damage and accumu- lation of these deadly nets would con-
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tinue,” said CCA Washington volun- teer Roger Goodan. “There remains, however, much more work to be done. That patrol shows that even after the issue came to the forefront in 2009, lost and abandoned gear in the Nooksack remains an ongoing issue.”
Just like their ocean-going cousins, river ghost nets won’t just simply go away. Fortunately, the excellent work done by NWSI has provided a shining example of what can happen when the public and federal and state agencies recognize derelict gear as a serious problem. Washington’s rivers will be a healthier and more productive place when a similar effort is undertaken to rid them of ghost nets.
Marcus Schumacher is president of the North Sound chapter and presently sits as vice president of CCA Washington, an active member of the Washington govern- ment relations committee and member of the board of directors of CCA National.
TIDE
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