Salmon fishing in the San Juan's has taken place over many years. In this lesson, we will tell you all about west coast salmon fishing.
There are many different types of Salmon swimming in the San Juan Islands. Some of these salmon include; Pink, Chinook, Coho or King, and the Silver. Of these, the Pink salmon is the most common around the San Juan's. Each of these salmon have different areas they live and breed in. As indicated by the attached maps each salmon has a different area for their habitat.
Some of the benefits produced by salmon fishing are; the salmon meat that we all eat and barbecue, the eggs (which are used to catch more salmon), and the rest of the body is used in crab bait.
Pursaining is a popular way for commercial fisherman. Using this technique, fishermen set up their nets in a long line and then catch the salmon by closing the net into a ring and shutting the bottom as indicated by the pictures illustrated. Seines account for more than a third of the world's fish catch. Over half the U.S. harvest and about a seventh of the Canadian landings are hauled in with this type of net. Fishing crews use seines chiefly to catch anchovies, capelin, herring, mackerel, menhaden, sardines, tuna, and other pelagic schooling fish. Pelagic fish swim near the surface of the water. The most widely used seine is the rectangular purse seine. Purseseines range from about 660 to 6,600 feet (200 to 2,000 meters) long. They have floats along the top and weights and rings along the bottom edge. A rope or cable called a purse line runs through the rings. A purse seine is set into the water from a large vessel called a seiner with the aid of a small, high-powered boat called a skiff. After a school of fish is spotted, the skiff is launched from the seiner with one end of the net attached. The seiner speeds ahead, encircling the school and playing out the net as it goes. The bottom of the seine is then closed off with the purse line, capturing the school. Seiners vary from about 30 to 230 feet (10 to 70 meters) in length and carry 12 to 20 people.
Gill Netting is another popular way to catch salmon in the San Juan's. Large commercial fishing boats lay down long walls of nets and the fish swim into them and they are not able to get out because their gills are caught in the net. Gill nets are long rectangular nets with floats on top and weights on the bottom. They range from 50 to 1,200 feet (15 to 370 meters) in length. The nets are hung in the water near the surface or close to the ocean floor. A gill net is made of thin twine and is nearly invisible in the water. The net is set in the path of migrating fish and forms a wall of webbing that entangles the fish. The open spaces of a gill net allow fish to thrust only their heads into the net. The fish try to swim through the net, thrashing, about and becoming more entangled. Gill nets are used to catch billfish, herring, salmon, sharks, and bottom fish. However, all these fish can be caught with other types of gear. As a result, the total catch with gill nets is less than 5 percent of the world harvest. About 4.5 percent of the U.S and 13 percent of the Canadian fish catch are brought in with gill nets. Most vessels equipped with such nets are less than 50 feet (15 meters) long and have crews of one or two.
Both these ways of fishing are not fool-proof. In both techniques they catch other sea animals that they don't want; sharks, seals, dolphins, and anything that gets caught in the nets die because they thrash to get loose but that causes them to get more caught up in the net.
In Canada they have come up with a new law that discourages U.S. fishermen from fishing in Canadian waters. Every time American fishers travel to Alaska by way of the inland passage of Vancouver Island, the Canadians charge a $1500 fee. that is usually too much for them to pay. This fee has angered the American fishing industry and the small coastal towns local economy tremendously.
Salmon are a essential resource to the world. If everybody keeps catching them discriminately, we will soon run out of these fascinating creatures. Salmon are the main food source of all types of animals, if we overfish the salmon we will be killing all sorts of other animals, which will in turn harm us. The warm western current, El Nino has also greatly affected the runs of salmon in the Pacific Northwest. The salmon stay up north in the colder waters. As a result, Alaska has a greater run of salmon. So American countries also are having large runs.
LESSON:
Split up group into 2 groups, persainers and gill netters. Debate between each other the advantages of why your way of fishing is more efficient. Also simulate with the use of candies the depletion of salmon along the west coast of the U.S.