Things are not SO BAD with the Alaskans any more.
They are now required to keep the Salmon by catch of the winter pollock season, and it gets counted against their quota for Chinooks.
Before this amendment, the salmon where common in the seine nets used on winter pollock, and the dead salmon where supposedly tossed aside despite the fact the fish was dead.
THEN the troll fleet had at em on their quotas! The troll fleet were going on the international boundary hard, so these truly where BC and Southern US fish.
All the same, the seal and sea lion cull is necessary. Only predator is the transient "meat eating" killer whales. There just are too few of them, and it does nothing for seals that go up river.
About 10 years ago a pod of 75 transient killer whales hit the Hood Canal, and it was estimated that in the week they were there approximately 1000 seals and sea lions where eaten. Then the pod moved on. Nature's way made a small dent at the Hood Canal, and the numbers soon re built and the seals kept feeding on the steelhead at the fish ladders.
The Puntlege River near Comox is a short river that used to be a winter steelhead destination. Now its full of seals instead.
Best of luck in getting this done. Seals eat alot of salmon, and anything else that swims.
Drewski
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