Quote:
Originally Posted by pikeman06
... Anyone from alberta that is supporting any of this "poor me" line of garbage from our "neighbors" better think about supporting anything out there...
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Your bitterness is more than evident, pretty much overwhelming in fact. However I suggest you are taking your fight to the wrong audience. The hunters and fishermen of BC are NOT your enemy, and we have a lot more in common with each other than not. I truly do hope that for your sake you can learn to deal with your anger issues in a more appropriate manner than slamming each and every resident of the province next door and blaming them for negative situations far beyond our control. As I told you previously, the vast majority of those who live outside of the LML do not share their views nor political persuasions, so please, give this a rest!
As for substantiation:
For simply harbor seals alone, their population went from around 10,000 in the early '70's, to in excess of 105,000 by 2008, and has not shown any indication of slowing down since.
Re: POPULATION ASSESSMENT: PACIFIC HARBOUR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA RICHARDSI) DFO 2011
Seals consume approximately 40% of juvenile chinook and 47 % of the coho production in the Georgia Strait every year.
https://marinesurvivalproject.com/re...ist/predation/
Seals consume 6 times the catch by commercial and recreational fishermen.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...3#.W1TEasInbct
There is no single cause of the decline in Chinook stock, a comprehensive plan to protect our salmon stocks must include the discussion of the control of the seal population.
Harbor Seal diet in northern Puget Sound: implications for the recovery of depressed fish stock.
M. Lance, Monique & Chang, WY & Jeffries, Steven & Pearson, Scott & Acevedo-Gutierrez, Alejandro. (2012). Harbor seal diet in northern Puget Sound: Implications for the recovery of depressed fish stocks. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 464. 257-271. 10.3354/meps09880.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14984-8
"As more protected species respond positively to recovery efforts, managers should attempt to evaluate tradeoffs between these recovery efforts and the unintended ecosystem consequences of predation and competition on other protected species."
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...3#.W1TEv8Inbct
Wild Chinook salmon productivity is negatively related to seal density, and not related to hatchery releases in the Pacific Northwest
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/...1#.W1TKDMInbcu
Tens of thousands of seals in the Salish Sea are devouring millions of adult and juvenile salmon, sparking renewed debate about culling the furry predators.
Recent studies have linked high seal-population density to troubled chinook runs and the decline of southern resident killer whales that feed on chinook in the summer.
https://theprovince.com/news/local-n...0-b1b4800cf615
There is more, but that should be sufficient for anyone to realize what the current situation is: Since being afforded blanket protection by the US & Canadian Governments, seal and sea lion populations have literally exploded. They are now at the point of being seriously beyond any realistic carrying capacity, and are inflicting enormous amounts of pressure on fish stocks, especially salmon. At this juncture, when commercial fishing has been reduced to an all-time low, and recreational fishing is taking serious cutbacks, the seals more than make up for these actions. In fact, before the cutbacks, seals & sea lions were consuming
600 % of the annual commercial and recreational catch combined. That is an obvious problem in anyone's books, and that problem is increasing annually.
Knee-jerk? Hardly. The best teams of science we have all point to the predation issue as very serious, one that is escalating, and one that should be dealt with. Recently the US concluded the same, and are setting up the process to control their own problem populations south of the line:
U.S. House approves bill to allow killing sea lions
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow tribal managers and government fish managers to kill limited numbers of sea lions in the Columbia River to improve the survival of endangered salmon and steelhead populations.
http://komonews.com/news/local/us-ho...l-of-sea-lions
Waste? Who said anything about waste?
This will not be a willy-nilly shoot 'em up open cull.
It will be a very focused and controlled harvest of certain individuals and groups of seals / sea lions that are having the greatest impact on salmon populations. Not so much a "
shotgun effect" as more of a "
surgical strike" kind of approach.
And for your information, the markets for the products this program will produce have been well identified, and largely secured before any thoughts towards proceeding further were given. They will not simply be shot and left, they will conversely be
harvested in every true sense of that word.
This new group is comprised of First Nations, Recreational Fishermen (not simply
the guides as someone here alluded to), the commercial sector, and a host of interested other parties. It has the backing of science, and has markets awaiting product as we speak.
It is doubtful that this undertaking will produce much in the way of income. In fact, it is more hoped that it will at least eventually cover the expenses incurred such that those involved will not be too much out of pocket while working for the greater good.
I did not come "
creeping" on here to garner support from anyone.
The post was made as a newsworthy item I thought some in Alberta's outdoor world might wish to be enlightened on. And it is the hope that some still might that I will continue to add information as this process develops.
Obviously a seal harvest cannot be a stand-alone answer to the issues facing salmon and killer whales. Components relating to habitat mitigation / enhancement and population augmentation necessarily have to go hand in hand with any such program. We are collectively pressuring the federal government in this regard right now, and have been for some time now. Recent developments suggest that they may actually be listening, and preparing to take steps towards initiating those additional programs which will be required to restore our depleted salmon runs.
Cheers,
Nog