WE ARE GILLNETTERS and we catch wild caught salmon with gill nets for the general public. There are many gear groups and each gear serves a purpose; we all catch wild salmon just with different gear. The different gear has different advantages and disadvantages, but we all work together for one purpose; catch wild salmon.
As a GILLNETTER, we pride ourselves in implementing quality practices. Due to small volume catch with our gear, we can bled, ice, and transport them from the boat to the held totes, from the held totes to the truck, from the truck to wholesale or directly to you (the general public) one salmon at a time.
Our GILL NET catch
actually can stay in our state and in turn stay in our community. We can take access to the salmon and make it readily available to you and your family. You don't have to own a boat or put out a pole, we can provide this wonderful resource directly to you.
If you have never had Columbia River Kings, you will never get a chance, because both the Oregon and Washington Wildlife Commissioners are making way to stop GILLNETTERS from harvesting them for you. They will soon be exclusive to recreational. The CCA has come into the Department of Natural Resource and made their presences known and they want it all to themselves. This includes other fisheries, like pink salmon in Everett, crab in Puget Sound, spot prawns, and now Columbia River Gill Nets off the water. CCA doesn't represent the general public; CCA are greedy, and now the Wildlife Commissioners are heeding to their demands. GILLNETTERS have been around for over thousands of years, GILLNETTERS have a place of monument and lives have been sacrificed. Time to voice your opinion on this, because the way it's going now; you won't have a plate of salmon unless you go catch it yourself. Lots of information for you, please review and most importantly contact your legislature today. My 3 minutes of fame that I blurted out is attached, but I also added three other points below: I showed up 15 minutes before 2pm and was number 29 out of 35. Hearing in Olympia in the Natural Resource room that started at 2pm, Nov. 8, 2012; There were CCA hat and labels on their shirt that read NO GILL NETS; There was a roomful of them so much that I stood up before the meeting and asked “do we have gill net representation here, please show of hands and I told them that I was too. Commercial guys spoke 65%-70% of the hearing, so that was good. It was ruthless and not factual statements from CCA like how sports fish is worth 10X more than commercial fish. More than 3 sporting good owners, said that they were laying off people because the gill netters were on the water. Lastly another guy spoke on how over 300,000 derelict net were found in Puget Sound, not his exact words, but whatever it was it was an obscene amount to make us look bad.
My additional points that I testify at the hearing that wasn't in my letter:
· We produced 94,000.00 salmon meals in Washington equates conservatively of ½ million dollar. Just John and Kay McDonald.
· Sporting good store are going out of business, because people are jobless.
· Derelict gear has to be reported at the time of occurrence; we have never loss a net or a piece of a net.
Even after the people of Oregon Voted "NO" to banning gillnetters, the ODFW and WDFW commissioner still support CCA to take out GILLNETTERS. My testimoy went in one ear and out the other. November 15, 2012 commission meeting in Seaside, WA confirmed it.
CCA BACKGROUND:
The original CCA was founded in Houston in 1977, originally known as the Gulf Coast Conservation Association. Its key founders were wealthy Texas oilmen including long-time Bush donor Perry Bass (Texaco) and Walter Fondren III, heir to the Exxon fortune.
Since 1977, the CCA has launched net-ban initiatives in Texas, Lousiana, Florida and Alabama targeted at small boat commercial fishing communities.
Despite spending over 750k in Alabma in 2007 the CCA was defeated by a coalition of small boat fishing communities and key members of the Alabama Black Caucus.
The CCA began organizing about two years ago in Oregon and Washington. Their primary membership comes from the Puget Sound Anglers, the sport-fishing group which, in alliance with Columbia River irrigators and aluminum interests, sponsored I-640 and I-696, the two net-ban initiatives which were defeated in the 1990's.
Washington CCA is led by Gary Loomis, a manufacturer of sport-gear and a very prominent Rossi backer.
CCA Pacific Northwest director is Heath Heikkila. Heikkila represented the American Forest Resource Council in D.C., a group which pushed for the weakening of ESA protections as part of the Bush "Healthy Forest Initiative."
Heikkila also served as spokesperson for the Washington/Oregon industry astroturf group known as "Citizens for a Sound Economy". This group supported the agricultural water withdrawals on the Klamath River which resulted in the recent Chinook spawning disaster and consequent salmon-fishing closure of the Washington and Oregon Coast. The CSE also supported a legal challenge to the ESA protection of wild fish, contending that there was no essential difference between hatchery and wild chinook salmon.
CCA spokesperson Heikkila also worked on an extreme right web site known as "FreedomWorks". Its politics are anti-environmental, anti-union and anti-immigrant.
CCA agenda in Washington State
The CCA seeks a greater share of the Columbia River Chinook harvest for sport fishers. They also appear to be pushing for greater restrictions on commercial net fishing gear. They are a useful ally to industrial interests who seek to deflect attention away from habitat issues.
The CCA avoids criticism of salmon habitat issues which would put it at odds with its industrial backers, many of whom directly profit from relaxed building regulations, weakened ESA enforcement, and reduced flows over the Columbia and Snake River dam systems. They do emphasize the threat of derelict commercial fishing gear, although they remain silent on the hazards of abandoned recreational gear.
Although the CCA argues for "selectivity" in harvest practices, they define selectivity in a way which justifies an intensification of sport fishing in mixed stock areas. They presume that catch and release sport-fishing has a benign effect on fish stocks. At the same time, they do not acknowledge that commercial fishing has become highly selective through in-water techniques which do not require the high encounter and discard rates of catch and release sport-fishing.
When you sit down to a plate of salmon, ask: "Is it Wild Salmon?" Wild salmon in this case, includes hatchery salmon, the distinguish is for Farmed versus Wild; not Wild versus Hatchery. The benefits of eating wild caught salmon always
outweighs farmed salmon.
John McDonald and his daughter, Katerina at Bellevue Whole Foods introducing Fresh Keta Salmon.
We finished the Coho season in Sequim!Thanks to all those that made it possible: fellow fishermen, beach house comforts in Sequim, Petrie giving us permission to park on her lot across the street, Steve and his wife and son for their hospitality and service, and a special thanks to Jay for helping me hook up the trailer for a safe trip home. We leave with good memories!
John has been fishing Keta/Chum (pictured above) with his crew Marcus in Seattle, WA. The season so far has been good, we hope it keeps! It calls for being up 24-48 hours without much rest.
We transport the Keta from John's boat and delivery within hours of the catch.Every gill is pulled to start the bleeding process, fish is held in slush ice upon catch.
Every fish is moved one fish at a time by hand from the insulated totes that are slushed ice on the fishing vessel into the small held totes, either walked up a ramp or on a cart to the truck with more insulated totes with slush ice to be delivered for processing at the processing plant within hours of catch.
We Bled our Catch, so you can have the best eating salmon; the proof is in the picture.The advantage of eating a GILL NET caught salmon comes down to quality, quality, and quality.
Fishing doesn't alway add up, but the beauty of nature makes it satisfying!
Marcus Morgan, a long time experienced crew (left)
Katerina, our daughter (right)
THANK YOU TO ALL THE NEW FACES
OF 2012 AND ALWAYS THANK YOU
TO MY REPEATS!
FRESHNESS and QUALITY
at IT'S BEST.
WE NOW ACCEPT:
for your convenience!CALL KAY: 206-795-2926
Support and Buy Local; Less Carbon Footprint.
Quality starts in the Fisherman's Hands.
Who Caught Your Fish? Do You Know Where It's From
or How It Was Handled?
You Can Buy Here and Taste the Radical Difference!
Fresh salmon sale starts in
August-November of 2013.
Hope to see you there!
THE FISHING VESSEL SANJO THAT CAUGHT YOUR WILD SALMON:
Above: F/V SANJO sitting pretty at the dock.
Introducing,
John McDonald,
your local fisherman!
Nearly all of his life, he has always worked with his hands. Shown to the right, John building his own nets; he fishes in Washington, Alaska, and Columbia River.
He is a gill-netter.
John is passionate about his work, and a good steward of the land.
In all the years he fished,
he has never lost a net.
FOR THE BEST WILD SALMON YOU WILL EVER EAT!
We carry a wide range of Wild Salmon to suit a variety of budgets and tastes. Our Main Volume of Inventory is sold on the fresh market. Please call or email for more information on products, current promotions and custom processing options.
PREMIUM WILD SMOKED WHITE KING:
SO... SO... GOOD!
$34.00 lb (package pictured above left)
ALL CAN GOODS AVAILABLE NOW
CANNED SOCKEYE SALMON
7.5OZ/24 CANS/$80.00
CANNED ALBACORE TUNA
IN OIL/WATER
6OZ/24 CANS/$60.00
A NICE ASSORTMENT OF CAN SOCKEYE SALMON AND TUNA!
If you want it FRESH, we have it FRESH:
Wild Spring King Salmon from the Columbia River in April and May.
Alaskan Wild Sockeye Salmon from Bristol Bay in June and July.
Puget Sound Catch for King, Sockeye, Coho, Keta, and Pink Salmon range from
Late Summer Thru Fall.
