To: Native/Hatchery Fish Policy Committee
Dear Committee Members,
You have two policy proposals out with the very short deadline of Jan. 15.
I assume your release, which says something about “removing random mortality” with “selective fish deaths” to “mimic nature” means you go clubbing and euthanizing?
When will the people involved ever admit that any difference genetically in naturally spawned or hatchery fish is totally caused by the department’s bioligists in their selection techniques? Sportsmen’s main complaint over the years, even when I was in the legislature, has been that hatchery-bred returning salmon are smaller. If they are, tell me honestly how selection by the department’s staff influenced this. You should know as well as I do what size of adults were selected and why.
Hopefully you have access to and acknowledge as truth a recent publication by well-known Oregon State University Professor Emeritis and fish biologist Dr. Jim Lannan on fish genetics.
One of the ways the department has used over the last several years to impress people with the shortage of salmon and other fish is by not allowing anglers to catch enough to make it worthwhile to buy their licenses and tags and make the trip. Then officials come to the legislature and complain about the shortage of money from licenses and fees. People love to fish.
In the past, the department has had a lot more politics in their rules than anything else and my brief look at the summary of the current proposals, it looks like continued politics to be able to claim “threatened” and “endangered” so the department can “catch” a whale of an amount of federal dollars.
In my opinion, it looks like you and the department have a lot more work to do before these rules are finalized.
Liz VanLeeuwen
Halsey