Messing with nature has consequences

The state Legislature has directed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the catch limits on bass, walleye and channel catfish in all waters of the state where they coexist with salmon. It seems that someone in the Legislature realized the existence of a connection between bass and whales. It is about time.

Everything in nature is connected to everything else. In this case, our politicians are concerned about the declining numbers of the resident Puget Sound orca pod. Orcas and bass both eat salmon, therefor, if the numbers of bass were reduced there would be more salmon for the orcas. Oh, were it that simple?

Conservation-minded bass fishermen have been practicing catch and release for years. With the example preached by the televised fishing tournaments, protection of the resource has become a mantra.

When two fishermen meet on the water, they normally discuss how the fish are biting, on what baits, depths, etc. If one fisherman says he caught several, the other now replies, “I hope you put them back for me to catch.”

Catch and release is even being taught to young fishermen. I have been fishing with one young man now for several years. He has reached the venerable age of 12 and has been thoroughly indoctrinated by those who feel it is criminal to invite a bass home to dinner. I keep in his good graces by hiding my filleting knives when he’s around. I like to eat fish, but the limits are already liberal enough for me to have an occasional fish fry. The absence of limits won’t cause me to keep any more than I already do.

Construction of the Grand Coulee Dam back in the 1930s included salmon and steelhead hatcheries to offset the loss of spawning habitat. Within the last decade or so, the hatcheries have been blamed for diluting the genetics of native run fish. The debate puts environmental purists on one side and everyone else on the other.

If the purists get their way, hatcheries will be closed to protect native fish populations. Their lawsuits were instrumental in over 100,000 hatchery fingerlings being dumped into landlocked lakes in Eastern Washington. Those fish will never run to the ocean. If the proponents are successful in eliminating hatchery fish, there will be far fewer salmon and the orcas may starve. What is more important, food for the orcas or genetically pure salmon?

The same question can be asked about many other salmon predators. A trip to the Ballard Locks will probably include watching the sea lions dine on salmon returning to spawn. Cormorants feast on smolts as they make their way downstream. Should we wage war on sea lions and cormorants as well as bass?

What about the gill nets Native Americans put in Lake Washington to intercept fish before they get to the spawning grounds? We have pretty much stopped commercial fishing. The last time I went salmon fishing in the San Juan Islands our guide reminded us we were targeting an endangered species. Should we also curtail sport fishing?

Any time we mess with nature, there are unintended consequences. I find it appalling that our legislature let politics overrule science.

Their directive came without consulting the Fish and Wildlife biologists who manage the resource. I find this unacceptable.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 19 years.