Efforts under way to remove derelict fishing gear from Nooksack River

Tribal natural resource staffers have removed lost and abandoned fishing gear from the Nooksack River.

The Bellingham Herald:

The Lummis and Nooksacks have treaty fishing rights under the 1974 Boldt decision, and they are the only ones legally allowed to have nets, specifically gillnets, in the river.

A representative of Lummi Nation said the tribe regularly patrols the river to look at the nets.

“We take out gear every year. We are dealing with it,” said Merle Jefferson, who oversees natural resources for Lummi Nation.

Report abandoned fishing gear in the Nooksack River by going online to derelictgear.org or calling (360) 428-1084.

The website has been set up for efforts, led by the Northwest Straits Initiative, to remove old and abandoned fishing gear in the marine waters of Puget Sound, including offshore in Whatcom County. But initiative representatives said the database now can be used to mark the location of derelict fishing gear in fresh water.