Puget Sound Archives - Capital Berg

Salmon Season Finally Starts in Puget Sound

May 27, 2016 By Cliff Jenkins Scott

Salmon Season Finally Starts in Puget Sound

State officials drafted a new management plan for salmon fisheries. The new scheme will correct the old program that was much too restrictive. Discussions about this year’s salmon season plans took an unusually long time, which determined many fisheries to close.

The Debates

This year, the negotiations were longer than usual and ended in the middle of spring. All fishermen will have to respect special measures to support the governmental efforts in endangered species conservation.

Participants in the debate say that a more efficient communication would have helped in drafting the plans sooner and starting the fishing season earlier. The discussions focused on the issues experienced by some of the fisheries.

Differences in Opinion

Managers of the state fisheries succeeded in reinstating the Central Puget Sound hatchery that was closed last year. The region will be open only for hatchery chinook. Baker Lake will be open from July until September, in order to answer the generous sockeye forecast for this year.

As for tribal officials, they want to restore the Puget Sound fishing throughout the area. They argue it’s nobody’s fault that salmon are scarce. The lack of habitat and the lack of salmon make them fight over the last piece, and everyone has to pay the price.

On the other side, the sport season on Puyallup River will be closed this year. Coho fishing will be forbidden, except for Hood Canal. And Puget Sound central and northern areas will be closed after the hatchery chinook summer quotas will be reached. Moreover, fishery in the south-central area will be closed from September.

The representatives of the sport fishing community freely accepted the restrictions.

Recreational Fishing

Among the areas dedicated to recreational fishers one can find Alki Point, Restoration Point, Possession Bar, Jefferson Head, Grays Harbor, and Chambers Creek. The marine areas include Neah Bay, San Juan Islands, Hood Canal, Sekiu-Pillar Point, and Grays Harbor.

Puget Sound is famous for its sport fisheries. Almost 200,000 anglers had licenses for the last year’s season.

Tribal Fishing

Lower Skokomish will be closed this year because the tribe declared it’s a reservation land, and public access is prohibited. Tribal representatives say that these measures are intended to help preserve the region, for both natives and non-natives.

The tribes agreed to reduce the winter-troll for Strait of Juan de Fuca from 8.500 down to 4,500. The plan also decided to cut back the netting time on Puyallup River and other regions.

Environmental Issues and Protective Measures

The local salmon population suffers from the fact that industrial development and pollution affected the places for spawning and rearing. Moreover, fish survival rates are decreasing because of deficient ocean conditions.

In regards to the ocean fishing, scientists say that soho’s survival was impaired by a vast area of ocean water that affected the food chain in the West Coast waters.

The managers will further focus on long-term actions and will take measures to restore the habitat and boost the stocks of salmons.

The new Puget Sound agreement will have to be validated by the NOAA in order to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Endangered Species Act.

Image Source: Flickr

A New Hope Emerges For Killer Whales

January 7, 2015 By Denise Ehrlich

New hope for killer whales arises as an infant orca was seen in the Pacific Ocean’s bay known as Puget Sound on the 30th December. This strange finding was made by one of the Center for Whale Researches top researchers, Dr. Ken Balcomb. Presently the newborn orca swims off the shore of Washington state. Thought to be older than a week now, this infant is a new hope in over 2-years. Sightings like this are uncommon. As per NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), around 35% to 45% of infant orcas lose their life before the age of one.

In the start of December J-32, a 19-year-old pregnant female whale, died around the Strait of Georgia. Researchers, including Ken Balcomb, drew her on shore. A necropsy on J-32 was conducted. The results demonstrated that the whale had miscarried. This set off a bacterial contamination which brought about the passing of J-32. Wild life researcher Brad Hanson with the NOAA said that “We lost lots of reproductive potential,” and “The loss of J-32 was an alarming setback.”

The name of the infant orca is J-50 and its mom is not known. Ken Balcomb said that two possible nominees are J-16 and J-36. J-16 is a 43-year-old female. She had three calves that survived and J-50 can be her calf. J-36 is the other contender for being the mother of J-50. She is a juvenile female and this could be one of her first calves. J-50’s dorsal fin and back have signs that researcher said it could propose an amazing reality: its delivery was helped by another whale. J-50 is likewise the 78th orca of the populace on the shoreline of Washington state and Canada.

Killer whale groups are recognized all over the globe. In the United States and Canada this particular group of killer whales is seen as a threatened species. As per Brad Hanson, a wildlife scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a critical part of the issue that prompted this result for the killer whale group is the taken for hostage showcase amid the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Over a large portion of the populace (around 40 killer whales) was taken from their natural habitat. In the 1990s the populace expanded to nearly 100 whales. A turn down of 20% was enlisted in the early 2000s. United States acted by marked the group as threatened in 2005.

Birth Of Killer Whale Calf, Brings New Hope To Threatened Pod

January 7, 2015 By Marlene R. Litten

The nature protection authorities were worried about the fact that there has not been a killer whale birth in the Puget Sound in two years.

Luckily, they can all breathe a little easier as researcher have found a new orca calf, around one week old, swimming in the waters.

Scientists hope that this infant whale will be the first indication of expansion for the struggling populace of imperiled killer whales—which they call J-pod, which lost a pregnant 19-year old female orca just a month ago.

Certainly, researcher Ken Balcomb, from the Center for Whale Research, said that he initially observed the orca a week ago while he was observing J-Pod. He acclaims that the birth is a good sign, especially after they had lost such so much hope with the demise a month ago.

As a part of the J-Pod, the new infant orca has been named J-50 (despite the fact that it is the 78th orca in this specific orca group).

One thing that is truly cool about the J-Pod orca populace is that not just do they now have the juvenile orca in survival, however they likewise have the oldest. The matriarch of this family—who they call “Granny”—is around 103 years of age; which is astounding on the grounds that most orcas normally don’t live past the age of 70.

Granny’s story, even, is noteworthy as she was a part of the group excessively endangered by lessened food supply. She was alive when the orcas were not exactly so imperiled. At the point when the killer whales were under threat of catch amid the 1960s and 1970s, she was there. And she is still here, with her pod, as they sail the waters off the shore of Washington State looking for more salmon, which is on the decline too.

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