Wow, another run being killed. Who is responsible for the fish runs being killed off in the lower spawning creeks? (“Big Creek Hatchery closure would take big slice from chinook fishery,” The Daily Astorian, March 17.)

“They” talk about having no money to feed the fish and speak of terminating them in the Big Creek area this year. Those who may be responsible for this action should take their walking papers, then the state could use their salaries to feed the fish.

There are several ways to feed the fish in Big Creek. 1) Grind carcasses after the older fish have been milked out for spawn. 2) Remove the dam below the Gorge Bridge in Big Creek so the fish would have passage up the 15 mile spawn area and into the tributaries. The young fish could eat the carcasses of their parents, which is nature’s way. The only cost would be the removal of the dam in Big Creek. In five years we would have large salmon runs in the Lower Columbia River area.

This would be the third run killed out of Big Creek. In 1942 and 1943, “they” killed the dog salmon. In the 1970s, “they” killed off the rogue salmon so they wouldn’t have to run the hatcheries in the winter time. Now they want to destroy a run of fish, the tules, that have been around for many, many years. In 1942 and 1943, the tule fish was canned in tall cans and sent to England to feed England and the troops overseas.

There are three grades of tules: the black mouth black head, which has been more plentiful than in past years; the gray head and gray body tule, which is a whiter meat fish and poorer grade; and the bruised and battered, beat-up looking fish whose meat is classified as a second grade of fish, which is still plentiful.

In the past several years, several of the streams have been blocked off so the salmon can’t get up in the fall. Bear Creek was blocked off to keep the “renegade” salmon from traveling up to spawn. How to “they” know they are renegade salmon? Do they wear masks? Plympton Creek in Westport was blocked off in another case of the “renegade” fish.

In Little Creek, the fish can’t get up to spawn because there is an eight foot jump from the water to the bottom of the culvert under U.S. Highway 30. This creek used to contain large dog salmon runs in the fall.

“They” want to raise winter steelhead in Big Creek, which are small, and nothing but suckers that move along the bottom of the creek and eat up all the eggs. They are of no commercial value – except to the sports fishermen.

If the fish commission wants to raise steelhead in Big Creek, they should raise the September steelhead that has some body to it, or the blue steelhead of June and July, which are much larger and almost equivalent to a 20-pound salmon.

I feel enough runs have been unnecessarily killed in the Lower Columbia River. Don’t even get me started on the issue of the seals and sea lions that have depleted our salmon and smelt runs in the Lower Columbia over the last three years.

Robert Van Osdol

Astoria