SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: Cruise ship heads out, purse-seine fishing boats head in

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Thanks to Gary Jones for sending the photo from Alki Point this murky afternoon. The cruise ship Ovation of the Seas is headed out again (but as we reported over the weekend, it’ll be back). The fishing boats, meantime, are purse seiners making their almost-annual appearance – this area is open to this kind of salmon fishing until 6 pm today. Jim Borrow says it’s been a busy day, sending this photo from the same area:

Jim wrote, “Mid-morning I counted 7 to 9 fishing boats off Bainbridge Is. and Alki, including the one very close to the shore in the near foreground and the one in the distance in this photo.”

Adam November 1, 2021 (4:58 pm)

Why on earth do we allow king salmon harvesting in waters where the endangered resident orcas are struggling?

WSB November 1, 2021 (5:04 pm)

They’re not fishing for king (chinook).
https://wsg.washington.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Salmon-Purse-Seiners.pdf
- For orca mammas November 1, 2021 (7:56 pm)
  
  SRKW orcas prefer and primarily hunt Chinook but due to lack thereof, may supplement with other salmon.
- Adam November 1, 2021 (8:22 pm)
  
  Misread, oops. However, it’s still an ugly practice and harvests whatever gets in the net. TN, you’re a real class act ;)
TN November 1, 2021 (7:44 pm)

Why oh why do the ignorant feel the need to post?!?C’mon man – learn about the issues before vomiting your uninformed opinion….
- Rick November 2, 2021 (12:46 pm)
  
  Because that’s how the internet works.

Auntie November 1, 2021 (5:19 pm)

It’s still a shame to see them dragging multitudes of fish out of the water.

Wee Bullet November 1, 2021 (5:47 pm)

They arent fishing, they are trapping and netting, its ugly, very ugly! Fish on with a pole ya bowsies, or head out to sea where the fish they are a plenty!

Jimmy November 1, 2021 (6:37 pm)

Adam has a point – a seining net doesn’t discriminate it will catch anything and everything in its path .. given the salmon shortages it’s difficult to understand why this is permitted even if it’s just one day a year..

Flivver November 1, 2021 (6:40 pm)

Adam. If nobody bought fish in the store and nobody ordered fish and chips in a restaurant and people would call out their friends,neighbors,co workers that go fishing then whales would have them all. Perhaps these people should be called out?

anonyme November 2, 2021 (11:02 am)

Sounds good to me. Everyone participating in these practices should be called out. The indiscriminate greed of humans must be curtailed. Humans are gorging themselves and a lot of other species into extinction.

Joan November 2, 2021 (7:44 am)

Why would anyone want to eat fish out of that water? It’s so industrial! Yuck.

For orca mammas November 2, 2021 (11:34 am)

Another resident orca who has been missing, recently presumed dead, a matriarch, from L pod. 47. This is on the younger side for a wild orca. So concerning.

anonyme November 2, 2021 (3:37 pm)

Heartbreaking. I also understand that recent reports show that Lolita, a former L-pod member now captive for 51 years, is failing in health. She has been in the same tiny bathtub for her entire captivity, which is now decaying and affecting her health. She is also being starved, fed rotten fish, and forced to perform feats that her veterinarian has advised that she not be required to do due to her age. It’s all criminal, yet the only entity suffering is Lolita.

Flivver November 2, 2021 (1:56 pm)

Anonyme/Joan. Let us know when you want protesters to go to grocery stores or restaurants or Fishermans terminal to convince people to never again eat fish. Guessing you have a large following wanting this to happen. Also, i’m guessing you have full support of 1st nations and will get them to stop eating fish???

For orca mammas November 2, 2021 (3:00 pm)

This is an all or nothing argument you’re making.

It is possible to have restrictions in an area inhabitated by an endangered species, for a time, to help the species recover, without declaring no one can ever eat fish from anywhere ever again.
anonyme November 2, 2021 (3:19 pm)

Flivver, I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. There is little to no connection between what is right, or even necessary, and that which is popular or desired. You are conflating necessity with greed. While I never suggested that no one should ever eat fish ever again, neither is there a human right to fish n’ chips on demand. The fact is that oceans worldwide are under threat and have been overfished for decades, or even centuries. Your attempt to twist this into a racial/cultural issue is sad. Change is very seldom popular, but humans need to change – or die. If you are truly interested in the crisis of disappearing resources (I doubt you are) then check out this website: https://www.overshootday.org/

Don November 2, 2021 (4:21 pm)

For all the people who feel the need to comment about a subject they know nothing about, [purse boats], and drive across the Duwamish without even noticing the gill nets stretched across the river, I wish you would all go back to wherever you came from.

WSCurmudgeon November 2, 2021 (4:53 pm)

Breaking News!”The Ovaltine of the Seas” is cruising laps at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. End of voyage shows as 8 Nov back in Seattle. The laps go much further into the Pacific than last time, probably so they can dump their waste with no fee. The position at 23:09 UTC (4:09PM PDT) is shown.

WSB November 2, 2021 (5:16 pm)

That’s what the folks at the anchorage-and-more briefing (though it focused on cargo ships) last week referred to as “race tracks.”

Flivver November 2, 2021 (4:57 pm)

Anonyme. Fishing is important to many cultures. It was YOU that said “everyone participating in these practices should be called out” It is YOU that made the racial/cultural connection. Did read your website. I DO get it that we need to take care of our environment/food sources. Just waiting for the no fish/beef/pork people to provide alternative food that is actually “popular and desired” and is sustainable for the long term. Just have a nagging feeling that your alternatives will be declared “unsustainable and horrible for the earth” in 30 years. Oh, and in case you’re wondering i don’t fish,or crab,or dig clams.

Flivver November 2, 2021 (7:44 pm)

WSCurmudgeon. PLEASE let the Coast Guard know they’re dumping sewage!!!. That would be illegal and your evidence will let the CG go after them and fine them.

Sorry, comment time is over.