In the heated debate over personal watercraft in Kachemak Bay, there seems to be one piece of information that has been overlooked, and I’d be honored to set the record straight.
Anyone who has ever snorkeled in an area where jet skis are allowed knows the sounds the watercraft emit are loud, disturbing, annoying and can be heard up to a mile away. While in the water, one is constantly forced to surface in order to verify just how close these watercraft are approaching, and virtually all animals have better hearing than humans.
What effect does intrusive noise have on wildlife? If there are birds at your backyard feeder, and if your back door makes noise when you open it, the birds instantly flee. Every hunter and every photographer knows the first rule of stalking prey is to be quiet. Any sound will cause your target to instantly flee.
The overlooked piece of information is that fish can hear. If you ask Professor Google, he will tell you that fish can hear. If you study the peer-reviewed scientific literature, it will tell you that fish can hear. My own 30-plus years of studying marine creatures on coral reefs has yielded many hundreds of examples that fish can hear.
When any fish, including salmon, hears a loud or disturbing sound, they will instantly flee. Fish spend most of their time feeding, but the survival instinct will always overpower the feeding instinct. When fish are fleeing for their lives, they are not feeding.
This leads to an inescapable conclusion: Less feeding time during the day will result in fewer salmon being caught by fishermen. The difference may be slight, or it may be significant. That can only be determined by future scientific studies, but fishermen will catch fewer fish if jet skis are introduced into the environment.
The Department of Fish and Game’s own Sport Fish Survey shows that more than 40,000 anglers fished Kachemak Bay during 2018. The number of jet skiers will be far, far smaller.
Does it make sense to diminish the satisfaction of more than 40,000 anglers in order to enhance the enjoyment of a few dozen jet skiers? Does it make sense to diminish the experience of tens of thousands of wildlife watchers and tourists in order to enhance the amusement of a few dozen jet skiers?
So far, I haven’t found anyone who thinks this proposal makes sense — but I have to admit that I haven’t yet asked the governor.
— Mr. Whitekeys
Anchorage
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