Says restoration efforts working

I really love it when an armchair expert spouts off and thinks he knows what is going on, but really knows nothing. I am no expert but I am an avid spots fisherman and fly fisherman who has a really good idea what is going on.

The efforts of local organizations on local rivers are doing a lot to restore salmon and steelhead runs. Also, the local tribes are doing things to help restore fish runs. Lummi Nation is making a great effort on the south fork of the Nooksack.

Another letter writer rambles on how the tribes and commercial fisherman should be allowed to fish at the mouths of the rivers. I believe that would only deplete the runs altogether.

I do believe hatcheries should be looked at and the methods changed, but not totally closed down like some people think should happen. Hatchery fish are not larger and are not monster fish that devour wild smolts. I find that to be a fantasy concocted up by misinformed people. The buffers will work along streams and rivers. That has proven to help. Salmon farms should be shut down.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Says restoration efforts working."