Salish sea seals eat 86% of smolts

So we basically have been resigned to the fact we will allow our elected officials to make ****** policy decisions because "we understand" its a hard sell to dim witted millennials and the washed up commie...errr, Green movements.

We really are doomed.
If you want to help I would suggest that you research the issue so that you can come up with a credible argument and talk to your friends about it. Insulting different groups is not helpful as it's often used as an example of the attitudes from the recreational sector. We have seen this before.
 
The latter of the two groups I mentioned have done so much damage to the former by making everything an emotional argument. You cant have a fruitful discussion with someone who puts feelings above logic. No point talking with these people, as they feel the whole essence of them being a "good human" rides on irrational views.

I was using a bit of hyperbole in my previous post though, we arent doomed at all. All the time i see people scratching their head when they look at how things are turning out after the flood of social/environmental justice over the last decade or so. Its only a matter of time.
 
The latter of the two groups I mentioned have done so much damage to the former by making everything an emotional argument. You cant have a fruitful discussion with someone who puts feelings above logic. No point talking with these people, as they feel the whole essence of them being a "good human" rides on irrational views.

I was using a bit of hyperbole in my previous post though, we arent doomed at all. All the time i see people scratching their head when they look at how things are turning out after the flood of social/environmental justice over the last decade or so. Its only a matter of time.

I think you missed my point. Read this link and then get back to us and show us how insulting different groups is the way to go. Perhaps we can learn something from how this is presented.
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/post.php?Seals-Taking-a-bite-out-of-salmon-survival-553
 
The Columbia river returns have been record breaking over the last decade or so. This happens to coincide with the culling of seals at the dam during that time period and cooperation from the first nations. There was a great public outcry when they started the culling but now it is an accepted occurrence and the seals are still thriving.

I do believe that there are now more seals in the Georgia Strait/BC than there have ever been alive. The First Nations people used to hunt them for food here as well but aren't allowed to now.

Fishers used to "cull" them as part of the job, it didn't wipe the seals out.
 

It is a good point that the ecosystem is more complex than just seals. Looking at the 2018 Chinook outlook that Wildmanyeah posted on another thread, the chinook populations with the best outlook (rebuilding) are the ECVI stocks. Rivers like the Cowichan which have been very well studied and have high seal predation pressure, while WCVI and North Coast stocks are not doing as well, and have low seal predation pressure. A previous poster (fishing?) also claims Columbia returns are high due to seal culls. There are no large scale seal culls on the Columbia, NOAA has authorized the capture and euthanization of up to 92 animals per year (sea lions) that have learned to habitually eat adult returning fish stacked up at the Bonneville dam fish ladder. From 2008-2016 they have removed less than 200 in a coastwide population of over 300,000. It is one special man made situation where they are removing specific problem animals (some have gone to aquariums, most are euthanized) , not a cull that has any impact on the overall sea lion population or on natural predation of smolts. Trying to equate this action to BC river or estuary seal issues and using it to justify a larger cull to save smolts is really not valid.
 
I agree that we shouldn't make all seals - or all harbour seals "enemy # 1" - and should have a balanced perspective & approach.

However, North Coast stocks do have high harbour seal numbers and predation - and some harbour seals do predate heavily on salmon - this is something that has been validated and corroborated with the Salish Sea Initiative work.

In addition, there are other marine mammal predators that have also gone through a "rebuilding" phase in the last 20-30 years or so - including dolphins and some species of whales - specifically humpbacks.

It would be naive to not acknowledge their impact and role in the food web dynamics - and extremely biased to not acknowledge that they could be part or the "problem" wrt stock trend reduction for some species in some areas.

How we "manage" these impacts should be the debate - but that begins with an open and honest dialogue about the potential and realized impacts from these predators.

Today, there is much discussion over "tipping points" in the conservation literature. I don't understand why we would want to exclude that conversation about marine mammals and their stock trajectories - simply because they are mammals and not fish.

 
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There is a lot of pieces to the puzzle.. but is some selected area's there is a problems (hot spots)....currently we have a couple river system on the island we have seals to far up the rivers eating what limited amount of steelhead left ...
 
There is a lot of pieces to the puzzle.. but is some selected area's there is a problems (hot spots)....currently we have a couple river system on the island we have seals to far up the rivers eating what limited amount of steelhead left ...

Like the Bonneville dam approach perhaps there could be some chance of having some sort of targeted capture/euthanization for identified problem animals in specific hot spots. That would still be hard to get past environmental groups, but certainly more possible than a large generalized kill. Years ago (1990s) "Herschel" the sea lion and a couple of his friends decimated the Lake Washington steelhead at the Ballard Locks, so certainly a small number of pinnipeds who learn a specific behaviour or technique, particularly if it targets returning spawners can be damaging, and there is better rationale for action than for large scale ongoing hunts.
 
would agree with u...For me that would be the more balance approach in this puzzle of many pieces that all contributed for a solution...
 
open em up to a sport fishery? I hear it was caught in the Chilliwack River and put up a good fight but was released as it’s a pretty small one.

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https://www.furcanada.com/web/browse-category-6-seal-skin-clothing.html

This outfit is right here in Nanaimo. I suggest any outdoors persons that kills an animal and doesn't want the hide etc. to call them up. Quite a few friends and employees have used them in the past. They were paid fairly for hides delivered.
There is a market for fur. There is a resource that is under utilized......harbour seals and sealions (if it were legal). The Harp Seal (over populated and totally justified harvest) products looks great from this outfit.
 
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