Bellingham Herald: Lummi salmon harvest feeds nation, world
Tim Ballew II, chairman of the Lummi Nation, wrote the following in the Bellingham Herald today: With the largest native commercial fishing fleet in the United States, the Lummi Nation…
Lummi fishermen pass down reef net heritage
Lummi Nation tribal fishermen are teaching young tribal members the traditional method of harvesting salmon in a reef net.
The tribe had four new wooden canoes made for reef netting. Traditionally, fishermen suspended the reef net between two canoes.
“It’s an imitation of the seafloor, like a reef, that’s why it’s called a reef net,” said Lummi fisherman Richard Solomon. “Sxwole is what our people called it. It was a gift earned by one of our people, I don’t know exactly how many years ago, (maybe) 200 years ago.” (more…)
Video: Swinomish tribe harvests Fraser sockeye
Earlier this month, Swinomish tribal fishermen used a purse seine to harvest Fraser River sockeye in the San Juan Islands for ceremonial and subsistence use. Some of the fish was distributed for tribal members to cook or can, and the rest was stored for ceremonial use during the winter. (more…)
Lummi Nation holds reef net fishery at Cherry Point
For the first time in generations, the Lummi Nation held a reef net fishery at Cherry Point.
“It feels good to say that as of yesterday, we, the Lummi Nation have been reef netting,” said Lummi Chairman Tim Ballew at a tribal event Aug. 28. “To know that tomorrow we will reef net and the days after we will too.”
The traditional reef net is suspended between two canoes. Tribal fishermen watch for the salmon to swim close to the surface, then lift the net. (more…)
Kitsap Sun: Cooperation at Salmon Harvest Talks
Chris Dunagan of the Sun had a great story on a later afternoon meeting between tribal and state fishermen during the North of Falcon process: Tribal and nontribal fishermen may…
“Treaty tribes have helped cut salmon harvest by 84 percent”
Georgiana Kautz, the Nisqually Tribe's natural resources manager, had a good opinion piece on harvest published in the News Tribune yesterday: Imagine if each year, everyone who harms salmon was…
Hatcheries Aren’t Habitat
There’s no question that hatcheries have a role to play in salmon recovery, but hatchery fish aren’t wild fish, just like hatcheries aren’t habitat.
Hatcheries are absolutely needed to support some wild salmon stocks. Without them, those fish would disappear. Hatcheries make sure we have fish to catch. If we didn’t have hatchery salmon, no one would be fishing. Tribal treaty fishing rights would be meaningless.
Yes, hatchery fish are part of the answer to salmon recovery. Hatchery fish were never meant to replace wild fish, though, and we have to make sure that never happens. Only wild fish can carry us into the next century and beyond.
Tribes Protect Salmon Resource Through Monitoring
FORKS (December 11, 2003) - The Timber Fish Wildlife (TFW)/Forests and Fish rules provide opportunity for tribes to participate in the review process that occurs before a forest practice application…
Salmon Harvest Making Its Way To Those Most In Need
SKOKOMISH NATION (Oct. 24, 2001)