'Pink fever' brings out salmon fishers, poachers
SEATTLE -- Every year or two, millions of pink salmon return to local rivers to spawn. It makes for great fishing, but it's also a prime opportunity for poaching.
We went on a sting with state officers looking for these illegal salmon snaggers.
On this day, when Fish & Wildlife officers rolled onto the scene at the Spokane Street Bridge pointing out potential lawbreakers right and left, you could feel the tension.
Some fishermen tried to cover their tracks, others simply disappeared. But for some, it was already too late. Sgt. Kim Chandler and Officers Chris Moszeter and Wendy Willette corral the fishermen they've spotted earlier, explaining why they're getting tickets.
The cause of all this fishing excitement? Sgt. Chandler says, "I call this pink fever."
Fisherman Ken Gonzales laughs and calls it pink heaven. "Yeah, all the pinks are out there running for all of us to catch," he said.
More than a million pink salmon are returning to spawn, and that's only the Duwamish-Green River run. There are so many pinks, it's almost too easy to catch the four-fish limit. One fisherman kicked a nice pink off the bridge back into the water below, saying "too small for me."
Wildlife agents say it's tempting to poach or fish illegally.
What are the common violations they are looking for?
"Snagging, failing to record, possession of snagged fish," Officer Moszeter said. Snagging is hooking a fish anywhere but in its mouth. It can happen accidentally, or on purpose. And the Spokane Street Bridge during the pink run is prime for catching snaggers.
"You name it: If we've got a law, it's probably been broken on this bridge," Moszeter said.
But the first step is surveillance, and in this case the rear deck of a nearby ship is a perfect platform from which the officers can watch.
With the help of spotting scopes, they can easily catch specific violators. For instance, it's obvious when they see a fish being pulled from the water tail first that it's been snagged. Anglers who accidentally catch a snagged fish are supposed to throw them back. Officers note the exact time a violation occurs, and who did it. And when there's enough evidence - they swoop in.
"How were those fish caught?" Officer Moszeter asked the man who pulled the fish in tail first.
Protesting his innocence the man responds, "I hooked them in the mouth - you can check them."
Moszeter does check, and finds a fish with a snagging hole clearly visible in its tail. In spite of the man's insistence, he's going home with a $540 ticket.
Another concern for wildlife agents are anglers who in the midst of "pink fever" may target an endangered salmon like the chinook and hope it won't be noticed in the confusion.
"They're larger, they're more desirable table fish," says Sgt. Chandler. "We really need to keep an eye out for folks that are after those."
But officers see plenty of legal fishermen who make them cringe, like when they yank fish out of the water, the fish hit the concrete deck with a hard smack and then the angler kicks the fish back into the water.
"When a salmon hits the pavement here - it's like going across a cheese grater for them," says Officer Moszeter. "They're not going to survive."
Wildlife officers stress most fishermen out here follow the rules. But when "pink fever" hits, anyone can go a little crazy.
Officers wrote 23 tickets on the Spokane Street Bridge the day we were with them. But that's not the only place "pinks" (also known as "humpies") are creating a fishing frenzy.
Wildlife agents ran another sting last Friday on Whidbey Island. While there are lots of pink salmon this year, the officers want to preserve the fish for those anglers who obey the law.
We went on a sting with state officers looking for these illegal salmon snaggers.
On this day, when Fish & Wildlife officers rolled onto the scene at the Spokane Street Bridge pointing out potential lawbreakers right and left, you could feel the tension.
Some fishermen tried to cover their tracks, others simply disappeared. But for some, it was already too late. Sgt. Kim Chandler and Officers Chris Moszeter and Wendy Willette corral the fishermen they've spotted earlier, explaining why they're getting tickets.
The cause of all this fishing excitement? Sgt. Chandler says, "I call this pink fever."
Fisherman Ken Gonzales laughs and calls it pink heaven. "Yeah, all the pinks are out there running for all of us to catch," he said.
More than a million pink salmon are returning to spawn, and that's only the Duwamish-Green River run. There are so many pinks, it's almost too easy to catch the four-fish limit. One fisherman kicked a nice pink off the bridge back into the water below, saying "too small for me."
Wildlife agents say it's tempting to poach or fish illegally.
What are the common violations they are looking for?
"Snagging, failing to record, possession of snagged fish," Officer Moszeter said. Snagging is hooking a fish anywhere but in its mouth. It can happen accidentally, or on purpose. And the Spokane Street Bridge during the pink run is prime for catching snaggers.
"You name it: If we've got a law, it's probably been broken on this bridge," Moszeter said.
But the first step is surveillance, and in this case the rear deck of a nearby ship is a perfect platform from which the officers can watch.
With the help of spotting scopes, they can easily catch specific violators. For instance, it's obvious when they see a fish being pulled from the water tail first that it's been snagged. Anglers who accidentally catch a snagged fish are supposed to throw them back. Officers note the exact time a violation occurs, and who did it. And when there's enough evidence - they swoop in.
"How were those fish caught?" Officer Moszeter asked the man who pulled the fish in tail first.
Protesting his innocence the man responds, "I hooked them in the mouth - you can check them."
Moszeter does check, and finds a fish with a snagging hole clearly visible in its tail. In spite of the man's insistence, he's going home with a $540 ticket.
Another concern for wildlife agents are anglers who in the midst of "pink fever" may target an endangered salmon like the chinook and hope it won't be noticed in the confusion.
"They're larger, they're more desirable table fish," says Sgt. Chandler. "We really need to keep an eye out for folks that are after those."
But officers see plenty of legal fishermen who make them cringe, like when they yank fish out of the water, the fish hit the concrete deck with a hard smack and then the angler kicks the fish back into the water.
"When a salmon hits the pavement here - it's like going across a cheese grater for them," says Officer Moszeter. "They're not going to survive."
Wildlife officers stress most fishermen out here follow the rules. But when "pink fever" hits, anyone can go a little crazy.
Officers wrote 23 tickets on the Spokane Street Bridge the day we were with them. But that's not the only place "pinks" (also known as "humpies") are creating a fishing frenzy.
Wildlife agents ran another sting last Friday on Whidbey Island. While there are lots of pink salmon this year, the officers want to preserve the fish for those anglers who obey the law.
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