Northwest Waters Archives - Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Don’t let fishing be the scapegoat

Post author:Billy Frank, Jr.
Post published:April 10, 2008
Post category:Being Frank

Fishing opportunities in Northwest waters have just about disappeared. It’s a situation that has strained relations between Indians and non-Indians – the state, local governments, environmental organizations, businesses and even fishermen. It’s also a condition we can improve, if we follow the truth, and that truth goes right to habitat. Fishermen have made the lion’s share of sacrifice so far, and cutting back on fisheries to the degree we have has not been easy on our people. Empty freezers and smoke houses hurt deeply, physically, economically and culturally.

Being Frank: We Are All Connected

Post author:Billy Frank, Jr.
Post published:October 16, 2006
Post category:Being Frank

For those of you who still don't think Puget Sound and the ocean environments are in trouble, here's some food for thought: If a dead orca were to wash up on your local beach, technically, it would have to be handled as toxic waste. Concentrations of poisons are so high in local orcas that the whale might have to be disposed of in a special incinerator used to clean up material from highly polluted Super-Fund sites. How could it ever come to this? How could the mighty killer whale ever decline so far as to be listed as an endangered species? How could these magnificent animals, that thrill and amaze us all every time we see pods of them slash through the translucent Northwest waters, ever get so polluted?