This poll is an excellent tool. It starts intelligent discussion and creates common understanding of the problem. Well done.
As to sources of the problem, the commonly held belief amongst fisheries research, conservationists, sport anglers and majority of the voting public that have an opinion is that sport harvest is not the problem...not even by a long stretch. Sport Harvest kills nearly zero Salmon relative to all the other major factors responcible for the decline of Salmon.
Real Sources of Salmon Decline
Poor Habitat, commercial over harvest, commercial over harvest of bait stocks, and hydro-electric dams, urban growth, polution, and variable ocean conditions are the sources of our Salmon declines.
1. We need to curb commercial over fishing of Salmon and bait stocks from Alaska to Southern Oregon to realize recovery.
2. Logging kills salmon spawning habitat with silt clogging spawning gravel and raising summer water temps that kill juvenile salmon smolts before they can begin their migration to the salt.
3. Urban growth pollutes habitat and raises summer river temps.
4. Hydro-electric dams kill a huge majority of ocean bound smolts each year via their ingestion into turbines.
5. Once in the ocean our salmon find critically low bait and food levels further pressuring their existence.
6. Then over harvest in the ocean further reduces returning adults, and
7. Finally we harvest adult spawners in or near their rivers.
As commercial fishing and commercial logging have the largest single impacts where dams do not exist, we need to start there. To date we have left the Salmon cookie jar with the children to decide reasonable harvest levels - all reasonableness is thrown out the window each year in favor of person and political greed. We need to lobby the process, demand non-commercial interests to have a vote in the harvest level meetings and process. That starts with individuals taking small - local actions and steps.
Your Vote Counts
As to our voice not having impact, hogwash! It starts small but builds momentum quickly by discussing, forming sport fishing and conservation associations, and finally lobbying governmental officials and legislative processes. Grass-roots individuals banding together can accomplish much more than any of us can imagine but it requires real action and less bitching/finger pointing.
Work to reduce commercial fishing of salmon and bait fish first. Favor sport harvest on the basis that sport caught salmon contribute 9-10x the dollars per fish harvest to the local economies as commercial fishing. Lobby Harvest Limits meetings and officials. Educate fellow anglers and general public.
Blue Print for Action - Striper Wars
For examples of success, web search Dick Russell's "Striper Wars". Dick Russell played a lead role in pressuring the politicians and fishery managers of the 1970's to end the over-harvest of striped bass, an undertaking that he has labeled “Striper Wars.”
Dick recounts the political maneuvering against a host of players, ranging from industrial polluters and ruthless real estate developers, to commercial fishermen whose self-centered concerns ignored the welfare of the striped bass. The dirty politicians are there, along with commercially oriented fishery bureaucrats who somehow – never fully explained to me by anyone – seemed to end up in the back pocket of the harvesters.
Baby Steps - Action is not Optional
Something as simple at bumper sticker on every angler's cars stating "I fish and I vote" gets people to take notice and is one of many simple steps that have impact. Rally together, form associations of like minded individuals, support conservation organizations, and get out the word. Educate yourself and fellow anglers. Lobby policticians. Demand regulatory and legislative changes. Bird-dog enforcement and finally, reduce your impact to the major factors of decline.
It's not easy but change can and will happen if you try - we own it to our children and grand children.