Supplemental Operating Budget

The legislature continues to wrangle over which programs to cut and which to protect in budget negotiations.  Ever since the Governor released her proposed budget in November, there have been proposals to raid recreational license fee revenue from the Wildlife Account to backfill further cuts to WDFW’s General Fund services, including hatchery production and enforcement activities unrelated to recreational fishing.  There have also been budget proposals to raid Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (RFEG) funding to backfill these same activities.  Senate Republicans, led by Senator Joe Zarelli (R-Ridgefield), proposed a new supplemental budget last week that protects the Wildlife Account and the RFEG account from these raids.  CCA recently sent Senator Zarelli a letter thanking him for protecting these two important accounts. Read the letter here.

 

Derelict Gear

The CCA supported Derelict Gear Bill (ESB 5661) passed both the House and Senate and is on its way to the Governor.  As you know, 5661 will require that all derelict gear be reported within 24 hours of loss and is a major step towards identifying and removing derelict gillnets from the Puget Sound.   The Governor has until March 31st to sign the bill into law. 

 

Capital Budget

Funding for Hatcheries, Marine Access Sites and Fish Passage Ways is still a part of the supplemental Capital Budget proposals. The House has about $63 million for these projects and the Senate has about $33 million.  It is difficult to say what will happen with this budget now that we are going into a Special Session.  CCA will continue to work to secure funding for priority projects important to anglers and fish recovery should a Supplemental Capital Budget move forward.CCA Washington continues to monitor legislative developments closely and will have additional updates and recaps as the Special Session nears an end.

 

Forage species, including smelt and sardines, are commercial fishing targets that can be used as feed for poultry, livestock, and aquaculture farmed fish.

 

CCA urged that harvest management of forage fish err in favor of conservation and recovery, that the Council delay authoriing any new fisheries targeting these species, and that the Council hold off expanding any existing forage fish fisheries until “...science is in place to manage both the prey fish and the predator fish that depend on

them.”

 

Read CCA’s letter here.

 

 

The photo below shows CCA’s continuous-loop DVD presentation (6 topics covered) displayed on a small flat screen television.   

 

We need your help!

 

The Northwest Straits Initiative’s derelict fishing gear project has removed over 4,100 derelict nets and 2,668 derelict crab traps over the past 10 years.  Nearly all of the removal work has been done by local divers in water less than 100 ft deep.  We are now looking at derelict fishing gear in deeper water.  

 

WDFW is conducting some deepwater net surveys as part of the regular rockfish surveys.  We are also interested in deepwater lost shrimp pots.  In the small commercial shrimp fishery, the fishers are required to fill out logbooks that include the number and location of lost pots, but we don’t have any good information on shrimp pot loss in the sport fishery.  I know I have lost a few through the years in Hood Canal and off Edmonds and I am sure you have too. 

 

We worked with the WDFW to come up with an online shrimp pot loss survey that sport fishers fishing in Puget Sound and Hood Canal can fill out to help us see if enough pots are lost to warrant developing some deepwater removal techniques, probably using an ROV.   The survey is totally anonymous and we would really appreciate the help of all the CCA community.

 

The survey web site is:

 

 

If you like more information about the survey contact: 

 

-- Jeffrey A. June

Natural Resources Consultants, Inc.

4039 21st Ave West, Suite 404

Seattle, WA  98199-1252

Phone:  206-285-3480

Mobile:  206-948-5347

Fax:  206-283-8263

Email:  jjune@nrccorp.com

WWW:  http://www.nrccorp.com

 

 

Sportsman’s Cove Lodge, an established charter fishing lodge on Prince of Wales Island,  Alaska, has been a proud supporter of CCA and its ongoing conservation efforts for many years.  We would like to offer any CCA member,  a 20% discount on any regularly priced trip.

Just give us a call and mention that you are a CCA member and ask for Patty or Barb to check on availability and dates.  We would love to have you visit us this summer.

 

Making Reel Deals! Call us today.

 

(907)-247-7252 -- (800) 962-7889

Find us at http://www.alaskasbestlodge.com