Morgan-E

For those who do not like to read too much, I bolded some of the key points. Try to attend the meeting at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery on October 18th to learn more about this new management plan and other aspects of the hatchery and the fishery. This is not meant to be a dig on anyone, as most people are unaware of how the new plan is going to work. It has in fact changed for the management of kings. If you read the new management strategy they are looking at continuing to balance baitfish and prey fish, but how they are doing it has / is drastically changing with the use of mitochondrial DNA being used to determine the percentage of natural vs hatchery fish. The idea behind it is that there is a lot of natural reproduction occurring mostly in the Salmon River, but also elsewhere in the lake and that in order to manage it properly a different approach was needed. With the new "marking" technique they are able to try a different approach that supplements the natural reproduction. The natural reproduction on a year to year basis is going to drive the number of fish stocked the following year. What this means is that there will be a one year lag in the "balance" / number of fish being released by the hatchery. This was acknowledged at the Spring meeting with DEC at the Mexico VFW in June. The reason for the lag is in the data. The bulk of the necessary data will be collected leading into the stripping period at the hatchery and by the time the data is compiled and analyzed the egg take will be over. The numbers reared at the hatchery will be determined in most part by the prior years' numbers of stocked vs natural and if there are hinderances to the success of the natural reproduction of that class of fish (floods, droughts, temperature, people being allowed to behave poorly, egg quality, numbers of fish returning, etc...) it will impact the fishery 3-4 years out. If the measured natural vs hatchery fish is very high and the numbers from the hatchery are adjusted down the impact of lower natural reproduction due to any of these reasons will be that much more drastic. Out of those causes for lower natural reproduction failure, the only one that we can control is the activity of people and how we impact the system. They asked that we, as fishermen, give them some time to work with this system so that they can work the "bugs" out to try to avoid a boom and bust scenario with the chinook fishery because of the new emphasis / reliance on the natural reproduction, which has a lot of uncertainty. How it all works out in the years to come - it is a wait and see situation. There is going to be a meeting open to the public on October 18th at the Salmon River Fish Hatchery at 7PM to get information on the salmon run, overall health of the salmon, preliminary data from studies, to discuss topics related to the hatchery and management plan with DEC biologists, etc... This has always been a very informative and positive meeting for all who attend. I am sure that they can explain it further at the meeting as the new plan is just that, "new". Hope to see many of you there.

Well, some good news! The group who was netting this morning were not part of the Indians who were spearing etc... earlier. They were caught and arrested. Too many people behaving poorly!

Well, I thought that the exploitation of the salmon under the guise of ceremonial practices might be over with no new reports of spearing over the weekend, but as of 5:15AM this morning there were nets strung across the river at Pineville and three drift boats could not launch until the nets were moved. The nets were being manned by a group that were described as looking like the same group of people who had been spearing the salmon. DEC was notified as well ad prominent politicians who are trying to help preserve the resource for everyone. Remember that the DEC's new management strategy is to depend on the natural reproduction as the primary source of Pacific salmon and that the hatchery will supplement those numbers on a one year lag system. What is done this spawning season will directly affect the return three and four years form now.

This should be fairly accurate and even if it is off a little there is a lot of stuff going on that shouldn't be. Two days ago a person was fishing without a license and was detained by a DEC officer in the Pineville area of the Salmon River. Not until things progressed did he identify himself as an Indian who did not need a license and showed the officer his card. At the end of the encounter the individual supposedly said that the officer had done it now and he would be back with a bunch of people to rape the river. He held true to his words and last night a large group were spearing and snagging salmon in the lower fly zone. Nothing was done. Today there was a gill net placed in the river by the lighthouse and nothing has been done. The governor has told the DEC and police to stand down. Both Chris LeGard and Steve Hurst know about this and didn't respond to the situation and requests for correspondence from many concerned fishermen as of this time and with the weekend probably not any time soon. Anyone concerned about the fishery needs to be proactive about this. If nothing is done now with Chinooks and Cohos taking a hit maybe they can be encouraged to come back in July when the water is low and the tasty Atlantic salmon are present and easy to spear, snag, and net. Now sets president for then. I hate to be negative but this is beyond reckless and disrespectful of the fishery and all of us who enjoy it. Those in charge should be moving on this, to do otherwise shows how little they care and collecting a paycheck is all that matters - everything else is lip service.

"Develop additional hatchery capacity to support the Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon fishery management objectives. Partner with the USFWS to raise 140,000 yearling smolts at Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery from 2023-2025. Pursue continued partnership opportunities with USFWS for fish production beyond 2025." If the USFW is not able to deliver or increase to meet objectives then this may become a real question.

After 2025 they have no set plan. Just a concern when they are looking for new real-estate to continue with the atlantics. It is in the document that they are only set until then.

The question might become "will you give up coho for Atlantics?" when / if they need the space to rear them into the Spring because they will be on the same plan as coho in terms of hatchery use and space on the calendar year from what I know about their needs and development. I hope that this will not be the case / ultimatum and that another facility will be able to house them to not displace the coho. I am sure that this plan will be discussed at the next ELOSTA meeting on September 20th at Runnings Clay 7PM and again at the October meeting TBD.

CNY Hospice sent a nice appreciative letter thanking those who participated in this fundraiser. A copy will be available at the ELOSTA picnic next Saturday. Just wanted to let those know who were able to participate that the donation was appreciated. Looking forward to next year.

A big thank you to all who entered the event and to Jack Rosenswie and Pro-Troll for sponsoring the event with a goodie bag given to each captain as well as to ELOSTA and those who helped coordinate this effort and weigh-in. The fishing was super hot from Fair Haven through the shipping channel by Henderson. Many people lost count of the number of bites, but the ratio to the net was rather low for some reason. It did not matter where people were fishing the story was the same. Some very nice fish were landed as well as some nice boxes to boot. The biggest fish seemed to mostly come on cut bait. Many teams opted to not weigh in their fish because they were the typical cookie cutters that have been being taken this season, but there were lots of them. The winner for individual fish was Rich Nau and Team Praying Mantis and his check to Hospice is in memory of Carol and Ralph Nau. The winner for big three fish box was Reese Scott and Team Gray Fox and his check to Hospice is in memory of Ken Scott. Please see the attached image of the results board. Looking forward to next year for this event and it is hopeful that it will expand with each passing year.