Salmon Fishery Cancellation

Salmon runs along the coast of the Western United States have become so decimated that the fisheries are being closed. The Pacific Fishery Management Council met Friday in Sacremento and are planning on cancelling commercial fishing from Tillamook, Oregon to the border of Mexico.

One of the first things I worry about is the racism against Indians that comes with such news. Back in the '60's and '70's along the Columbia and in other fisheries in the Northwest we had ourselves what were called the "Fishing Wars." White anglers and cops and supporters were often attacking Indians saying that Indians were responsible for the decimation of the salmon runs on the Columbia and in other areas. Turns out the Columbia run depletions were caused by two things: dams and the flouride put into the water by the aluminum smelters.

And, a couple of years ago, with the meager and LATE runs on the Columbia, the news crews were out interviewing anglers who, of course, were blaming the Indians.

The other day, a co-worker informed me that he and a friend of his that is an angler were having a discussion about the depleted salmon runs. The racist fuck immediately blamed the Indians in which my co-worker corrected him.

You see, folks, before the Euros invaded our lands, we had estimated runs along the Chewana (Columbia) of 16,000,000. Now we are lucking if we get over 80,000. This year, the runs are coming late, and it looks like it may be the worst year ever.

There is, of course, the dams. The dams on the Klamath were responsible for one of the biggest fish kills known just a few years ago. Was it Indians operating the dams? No. In fact, the Indians are trying to get Scottish Power to take the dams out.

Then there were the aluminum smelters and the flouride they were releasing into the water was screwing up the radar of the salmon. There are pretty much no aluminum smelters left in Oregon and Washington as the wealthy have sold out or moved their smelters to areas where they can exploit cheap labor.

There is also global warming whose effects on salmon runs is unkown and difficult to study.

Industrial trawling, dead zones, MILITARY DUMPING WASTES SUCH AS MUSTARD GAS in the oceans, etc. Oddly, none of these things are caused by INDIANS. These things are caused by an industrialized empire who believes that the only life with meaning is human, and some of those humans are easily defined by others as not being human.

So, blaming Indians for the depleted fish runs is not only racist, but an easy way to not to have to deal with the fact that this industrialized nation is actually responsible for the slaughter of the salmon. This, of course, would mean that the anglers have some sort of responsibility in their nations actions and may actually have to do something about it. But why do something about it when it is so much easier to be racist and let the shit continue just as it is.