Saving Seafood

OREGON: Oregon Tribes declare opposition to wind energy areas

November 13, 2023 — Oregon Indian tribes this week said that they oppose two draft wind energy areas off the state’s coast, over their concerns about how fisheries and cultural resources could be affected.

In a statement the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said it recently passed a unanimous resolution expressing the opposition, meeting a deadline for comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

After meetings with BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein, “it was apparent to the Tribe that its concerns regarding offshore wind development’s impacts to fisheries and cultural resources were not going to be addressed in a meaningful way,” Tribal Council Chair Brad Kneaper said in a statement Nov. 8. “We recognize that all energy development has impacts and BOEM has failed to provide assurance that wind energy development will do good and not harm the Tribe, its members, and the greater coastal community.”

The council said its comments to BOEM have included requests that wind energy areas be at least 12 nautical miles off the continental shelf “to preserve “important, cultural viewsheds” and “avoid areas critical to resident and migratory species, including important areas for fishing.”

Read the full article at WorkBoat

OREGON: Struggling salmon fishermen getting federal help in Oregon and along West Coast, but it may be too late

October 24, 2023 — The federal government will dole out disaster relief to commercial Chinook salmon fishermen who have weathered a string of poor seasons on the Oregon Coast. But some fishermen say the help won’t be enough to rescue the fast-shrinking industry.

Earlier this month, two years after a request by Oregon’s governor, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a Chinook fishery disaster for 2018, 2019 and 2020, years when local salmon populations plummeted. Fishing regulators blame the drop on poor habitat conditions and climate change near the California-Oregon border, where thousands of Chinook migrate from the ocean up rivers and streams to spawn.

Read the full article at OPB

OREGON: Disaster funds available from 2018-2020 Chinook salmon fishery

October 22, 2023 — With the 2024 Chinook salmon season underway, lawmakers including Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced on October 13 that the 2018-2020 Chinook salmon fishery has been declared a disaster by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The announcement allows local fishermen to apply for disaster assistance funds to help recover from low fishing returns during those years.

“This means that they’re going to be able to cover their rent, and their groceries, and their gas bill, and maybe get a pair of shoes for their kids. It’s going to help them get back on their feet,” said Wyden.

The 2023 Chinook salmon season was closed along the Pacific Northwest, aside from limited opportunities with tight catch limits.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 14 members comprised of representatives from California, Washington, and Oregon manage salmon fishing 3-200 miles off shore and set those limits with help from fisheries managers.

Jeff Reeves, chairman of the Oregon Salmon Commission has fished Oregon’s waters the last 50 years and says the fishery’s downturn in 2018 led to a broad reaching economic wipe out among fishermen.

Read the full article at KPIC

OREGON: Oregon officials consider adding southern resident orcas to state endangered species list

October 3, 2023 — The number of southern resident orcas that forage along the Oregon Coast has been on the decline for decades as they struggle to find food and confront boats and pollution.

Just 73 are left, down from a peak of nearly 100 in the late 1990s. Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division project the number could decline by half during the next 20 years.

Now, the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission will weigh whether to add the orcas to the state’s endangered species list, creating more protections for the orcas and directing more conservation money toward their survival. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday produced an assessment of the situation that the commission will review. Southern resident orcas are already listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act and in Washington and Canada, where they also live and forage. Being listed under Oregon’s Endangered Species Act would offer even greater protections, according to Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.

“While the federal listing is helpful, some of its provisions only apply to federal actions,” Sakashita said via email. “By having a state listing, the state has more powerful tools to address threats to orcas and their salmon prey.”

If listed, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department would need to develop a management plan and coordinate with other state agencies to take action and address the primary threats to orcas in Oregon. The commission is scheduled to decide whether to add the southern resident orca to the state’s endangered species list by February 2024.

The primary threats to southern resident orca survival include a lack of salmon to eat, pollution from chemicals and oil spills and disturbances from boats, including sounds from the boats.

Read the full article the Oregon Capital Chronicle 

Millions pegged for salmon, steelhead recovery

September 25, 2023 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is recommending sending $106 million to 16 salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in five Western states.

NOAA and the Department of Commerce recommended grants to state agencies with salmon protection missions, tribes and tribal partnerships in Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California.

The funding “provides an important opportunity to bolster salmon and steelhead recovery and invest in the communities that rely on them,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

Read the full article at The Challis Messenger

OREGON: Federal officials will meet with Oregonians about controversial offshore wind energy projects

September 10, 2023 — Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officials will meet with Oregonians concerned or curious about potential floating offshore wind energy projects following public and political outcry.

Officials will host three in-person meetings in Gold Beach, Coos Bay and Brookings on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. The agency also doubled the public comment period from 30 to 60 days, until Oct. 16.

Generating clean energy from wind turbines floating in the Pacific Ocean is part of state and federal plans to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global climate change. But some residents of the Oregon Coast and several tribal nations are concerned about the potential impact to marine life, fisheries and the industries and people who depend on them.

Coos Bay and Brookings are closest to the two swaths of Pacific Ocean identified by the ocean energy agency as ideal for large wind turbines that would float about 18 to 32 miles from land. Energy generated across the 344 square miles of open ocean identified for the projects could power nearly 200,000 homes. The federal agency would like to host an auction by year’s end, allowing companies interested in developing ocean wind energy to bid on leases for the sites. A similar auction in California in 2022 brought in $757 million in winning bids for four companies.

Read the full article at Oregon Capital Chronicle 

OREGON: Oregon tribes protest offshore wind plans

August 26, 2023 — Federal officials’ announcement of two draft wind energy areas off the Oregon coast poses danger to fisheries, jobs and the state’s coastal environment, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians say.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s proposal “was premature and threatens fisheries, local fishing jobs, and some of Oregon pristine ocean viewsheds, some of which are sacred to the Tribe,” the confederation said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Objections coming out of Oregon are echoing those lodged against offshore wind projects off the East Coast, where local groups continue to mount fierce political and legal campaigns over anticipate impact on fishing and ocean views from coastal communities.

In months leading up to the draft wind areas release, BOEM was urged by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, fishing advocacy groups, tribes and Oregon elected officials to pause and start its planning process over again.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

LORI STEELE: Safeguarding Oregon’s Sustainable Seafood Industry: DEQ urged to reconsider unachievable permits

August 21, 2023 — Oregon’s coast boasts the heart of our commercial fishing industry, renowned for its delectable, sustainable seafood that attracts nearly 30 million visitors annually.

The bustling waterfronts not only offer picturesque scenery but also serve as vital economic hubs, providing generational fishing families with a market to deliver their catch and distribute Oregon’s seafood nationwide and across the globe.

As proud stewards of the marine ecosystem, Oregon’s seafood industry has worked diligently for over a century to foster a sustainable environment, supporting thriving communities and vibrant coastal economies. However, our seafood industry now faces a critical challenge.

Read the full opinion piece at the North Coast Citizen

BOEM outlines two Oregon wind energy areas

August 17, 2023 — Two proposed wind energy areas located 18 to 32 miles off the southern Oregon coast would total less than 220,000 acres – much less than potential development areas first outlined by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in April 2022.

The Aug. 15 announcement from BOEM starts a 60-day public comment on the proposal. This new draft document comes after calls from Oregon state officials and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for BOEM to rethink its analysis of wind energy development and potential conflicts with fishing, maritime shipping and environmental issues.

As now proposed the areas would total 219,568 acres of federal waters – a reduction of 81 percent from BOEM’s original “call areas” drawn in 2022 to gauge wind developers’ interest and stakeholders’ reactions.

The agency will “continue to prioritize a robust and transparent process, including ongoing engagement with Tribal governments, agency partners, the fishing community, and other ocean users,” said BOEM Director Elizabeth Klein in announcing the proposal.

“At the request of Oregon’s governor and other state officials, there will be a 60-day public comment period on the draft WEAs and BOEM will hold an intergovernmental task force meeting in addition to public meetings during the comment period,” said Klein. “We look forward to working with the state to help us finalize offshore areas that have strong resource potential and the fewest environmental and user conflicts.”

BOEM worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) to use an ocean planning model “that seeks to identify and minimize conflicts,” according to BOEM.

Read the full article National Fisherman