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Tom, Good point and you are absolutely right. It is, plain and simple, commercial overfishing. I've seen it first-hand. For all the supposed regulations, the industry is remarkably unregulated - how does anyone patrol the high-seas? There's a lot of theft and unfair practices abounding and, I suspect, most in the industry participate. What floors me is the sea-lion smoke screen. You can read about fishery collapses worldwide and the effect it has on apex predators and the ecosystem as a whole. The sea-lions aren't poaching fish, they're following the dwindling food supply. The "robust" numbers mentioned in the show are relative. Like the point you made in your comment, how is 750,000 salmon considered a healthy run when it's a fraction of a percent of what used to be? Get set, we'll fish everything out and the lunkheads arguing "jobs" to confuse the issue will then truly have to find other work. What's more, they will have diminished the quality of life for everyone else...

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I've worked in the fish processing industry and have a few storries. Here's a few anecdotes:
1) A first mate on my processing vessel, who had worked the industry for 25 years, told me that fisheries began to decline on the introduction of factory trawlers.
2) The vessel I was on dumped overboard several pallets of used oil, paint thinner and degreaser. This took place in the middle of the night roughly 20 miles off the Alaskan coast.
3) Fishereis continue even though the fish are not immediately needed or used for food. They are being caught, processed and put into deep freeze for extended storage. At the time I was fishing I was told that there was enough salmon in storage to last the Japanese 7 years.

My opinion is that we are up against greed and small time jobs are being used as a smokescreen for the issue.

My prediction: The fisheries will continue to decline.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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