August 1, 2023 — Agreements signed in the 1980s limited two Oregon tribes’ right to fish, hunt and gather food on their ancestral lands. Federal legislation may soon reinstate those rights on traditional lands.
OREGON: Oregon considering further Dungeness crab restrictions
July 16, 2023 — The U.S. state of Oregon is considering a handful of new restrictions on Dungeness crab fishermen – including a 20 percent reduction in pot limits – to reduce the risk of wildlife becoming entangled in crabbing gear.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is planning to host a meeting in Salem, Oregon, U.S.A. on 4 August to discuss the changes and evaluate the effectiveness of previously adopted measures.
OREGON: Oregon governor, lawmakers call for offshore wind pause
June 15, 2023 — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and members of the state Congressional delegation called on the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to slow down its planning process for offshore wind energy projects and better evaluate their impact on the environment and Oregon’s economy.
“Many valid questions and concerns remain about floating offshore wind,” Kotek wrote in a June 9 letter to BOEM director Elizabeth Klein. “These must be addressed transparently before we can support proceeding further toward any substantial development decisions on the Oregon coast.”
The letter was also signed by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Val Hoyle and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. Their concern is a subtle but significant shift from generally strong support for the Biden administration’s wind energy priorities among Democratic leaders in coastal states.
OREGON: Oregon governor, members of Congress call for pause on offshore wind turbines
June 14, 2023 — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is joining a chorus of voices — including tribes and commercial fishermen — urging the Biden administration to slow down its push for floating wind farms in the Pacific Ocean off the state’s southern coast.
In a letter sent June 9 to Elizabeth Klein, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, Kotek asked the agency to pause identifying and leasing offshore wind areas in order to fully evaluate impacts on the environment and economy.
The letter was also signed by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Reps. Val Hoyle and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats.
OREGON: Oregon seafood processors claim that the state’s stringent wastewater regulations will ultimately compel them to shut down
May 26, 2023 — New regulations in the U.S. state of Oregon are concerning local seafood processors, who are worried they will be forced to treat wastewater to be cleaner than drinking water.
The West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA) said in an issue brief the regulations will force many of its members to close unless the state legislature intervenes.
“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exempts seafood processors from these types of extreme limits,” WCSPA said “No other state in the United States – nor any other country in the world – has applied these requirements to seafood processors. Without immediate action by government leaders, Oregon’s seafood and commercial fishing communities are in jeopardy.”
In response, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said it is working with individual seafood processors on incremental improvements and is not trying to shut down the facilities.
“It is not DEQ’s intention … to put any seafood processor out of business,” DEQ Water Quality Administrator Jennifer Wigel said in testimony last month.
OREGON: Oregon fishing industry finds relief as USDA makes $52M purchase
May 10, 2023 — There’s relief among South Coast fishing communities following the announcement of the United State Department of Agriculture’s purchase of $52 million in Oregon seafood products.
“Before, somebody would think whether or not they should or can afford hiring a crewman. Maybe now they can actually say, ‘Okay, I actually know that we need to deliver these orders,” said Yelena Nowak, Executive Director of the Oregon Trawl Commission. “And I think processors will be in the same position. They know that they need labor. There’s no uncertainty about it.”
The USDA program traditionally purchases surplus food products from vendors for food assistance programs, but seafood is moving higher on the food list.
OREGON: Oregon gov. calls for fishery resource disaster over Chinook season closure off West Coast
April 24, 2023 — Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is calling on the U.S. government to declare a federal fishery resource disaster over the closure of the 2023 season for all commercial and most recreational Chinook salmon fishing along much of the West Coast.
This month, the Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended closing all commercial ocean fishing ror Chinook from Cape Falcon on Oregon’s northern coast to Mexico. The action is in response to low Chinook returns.
Wild salmon crisis hits US West Coast with closure of California, Oregon chinook fisheries
April 6, 2023 — The Pacific Fishery Management Council voted on Thursday, 8 April to recommend the closure of the 2023 commercial chinook salmon fishery from the northern coast of the U.S. state of Oregon to the Mexico border.
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service is likely to accept the recommendation, which will go into effect prior to the season’s start in mid-May, according to a statement issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which said the PFMC based its decision off low ocean abundance forecasts and low 2022 returns.
OREGON: Fishery council calls to rescind Oregon offshore wind areas
April 6, 2023 — The Pacific Fishery Management Council is asking federal regulators to rescind two “call areas” off the southern Oregon coast that have been identified for potential offshore wind energy development.
Council members voted 10-0 on March 9 to recommend scrapping both areas over worries that massive floating wind farms will burden commercial and tribal fishermen.
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, established the areas last year — including one that covers 1,364 square miles of ocean near Coos Bay, and another spanning 448 square miles near Brookings.
OREGON: Likely closure to Chinook salmon season in Oregon due to California drought
April 4, 2023 — Recent years brought a sizeable dip in ocean Chinook salmon numbers out of California causing low returns throughout Oregon, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC).
This week, a meeting of the PFMC will decide whether to close fall Chinook salmon fishing in Oregon this summer.
Federal agencies, tribal members, state representatives, and members of the fishing community comprise the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
The Council began a week-long meeting in California Monday to design a plan to protect this year’s run of fall Chinook salmon.
“They look at the data, the reports from the scientists, and the estimates of what the salmon season is going to look like in terms of numbers of fish coming back and then they determine the best way to shape the fishing season,” said Michael Milstein with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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