great insight, thanks Mel.
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 12:34:57 -0800, mel hocken <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ken > I've read and heard comments about sea lions from fishermen who complain how > the beasts are responsible for the decline in fish stocks. It is a lot > easier to blame someone or something else for our problems than it is for an > individual or humanity to take responsibility for their actions. I look at > the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, my place of residence. There has been > a sharp decline in the numbers of fish stocks such as Coho, Steelhead and > Searun Cutthroat. People are the main cause of the decline. Poor logging > practices is one the big culprits in our region. The big one is urban > development. The loss of small feeder streams in the valley is horrendous. > It is saddening when I think of all the small steams which have been > destroyed in the valley over the past 40 years. These have gone from year > round clear running streams to spate streams which only have water in them > when it rains. The amount of large scale urban and industrial development > has deforested the land and then the buildings that of been constructed in > the place of forests allow the rain to flush the stream like a giant toilet. > Dikes have been constructed to allow the drainage of salt marshes to provide > farm land. Again a great loss of transitional rearing habitat for anadromous > fish. Although there may be some over population in some regions or the > migration of a species into areas not normally inhabited. It might be that > the gill nets and seines have taken so much of their historical food source > that they have to follow the fish into areas not normally traveled to find > enough sustenance to survive. In summary we might be a little hasty if we > call for a thinning or the wholesale slaughter of a specie until we take a > long look in the mirror and truely identify the invaisive specie. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ken Staples" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 7:49 AM > Subject: [VFB] Recent Fly Fisherman article: Seals > > > Hi Everybody, > > > > Mel's last comment on the invasive species thread got me thinking > > about an article I just read in Fly Fisherman concerning seals & sea > > lions. > > > > Basically there are movements to eliminate a chunk of the pinniped > > population because they feel they are too much competition for the > > salmon. Not living in the area I have no reference points for this or > > not. What are some of the thoughts of those of you who live in areas > > with seals/sea lions? > > > > Part of it scares me. Not from a "Oh, seals are so cute" standpoint > > but more from a "If we get rid of a bunch of seals then what impact > > will that have elsewhere that we don't know about?" Who knows, maybe > > seal poo is necessary to fertilize the kelp beds? ;-) > > > > So, just curious to see what people think who are affected (or not) by > > this. > > > > Ken > > > >
