Saving Seafood

West Coast Senators Add Voices To Request For Salmon Disaster Declaration

June 9, 2017 — Four West Coast senators are calling on the Trump administration to declare a salmon fishery emergency and provide aid to economically struggling coastal communities.

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon — as well as Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris from California — released a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Friday calling for the declaration. It comes in the wake of a similar appeal two weeks ago from the two states’ governors, Kate Brown of Oregon and Jerry Brown of California.

So far, the Trump administration has not publicly responded.

Concerns about idled salmon fishing fleets this year were raised after recommendations to restrict salmon fishing off the coasts of California and Oregon.

Read the full story at KUOW

OREGON: Tour shows value of commercial fisheries

June 5, 2017 — Positive news about successful local efforts to build and maintain a strong fishing community in Clatsop County jostled with concerns about attracting workers at the first ever Clatsop Commercial Fisheries Tour Wednesday.

The tour, conceived of and hosted by Oregon State University’s Oregon Sea Grant, drew approximately 100 people, introducing them to fishermen working in the county’s Dungeness crab and groundfish fisheries and taking them through seafood plants and boat yards in Astoria.

The overall message was positive. Fishermen, seafood processors and boat builders talked about the sustainability of Oregon’s fisheries, the economic benefit the industry provides to the community as a whole, and the well-paying jobs that still exist on boats and in fish processing plants. “It’s organic, it’s free-range … it’s diet-free, whatever,” joked Scott McMullen, of the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee, about rockfish and how certain stocks like canary rockfish have recently been delisted.

Some troubles

But concerns crept in, too.

For example, a species like canary rockfish has been off-limits and off the market for so long on the West Coast that fishermen are “fighting to get back into the shelf space,” McMullen said. While they were absent, other markets and countries filled the void.

Managers at Da Yang Seafood and processing giant Pacific Coast Seafood talked about the difficulty of recruiting labor to the area. People don’t seem to understand that processing jobs can be well-paid, they said. Pacific Coast Seafood has started to recruit farther afield and made do with fewer employees, while Da Yang has looked into automation. The lack of affordable, short-term rental housing options for seasonal workers complicates hiring, too, they say.

Read the full story at The Daily Astorian

West Coast Ocean Acidification Rates Among Highest In World

June 2, 2017 — Carbon emissions aren’t just causing climate change, they’re having a profound effect on ocean chemistry.

Our oceans are becoming more acidic and this is a major threat to fisheries.

Researchers have now recorded some of the highest levels of ocean acidification in the world,  right off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.

When oceans absorb carbon, they become more acidic, preventing oysters and tiny marine snails at the base of the food chain from forming shells.

A new study from Oregon State University documents ocean acidification off the coast of California and Oregon.

“What we didn’t know is that if you’re an animal living on the shore, how often do you see a bad day?” Francis Chan, a lead author, said. “And now because we have sensors that are actually taking a measurement of ocean PH every 10 minutes throughout the summer, we can start to build that picture.”

The study found that while there were persistent hotspots of destructive acid levels, there were also areas that stayed within healthy ranges.

Read the full story at Northwest Public Radio

California, Oregon governors request salmon disaster declaration

May 26, 2017 — California Gov. Jerry Brown and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called on the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Thursday to declare a federal fisheries disaster due to this year’s unprecedented low number of ocean salmon, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The disaster declaration would allow Congress to appropriate relief funds to aid losses sustained by the salmon fishing fleet in California and Oregon. North Coast representatives including state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) and 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) had asked Jerry Brown to request a disaster declaration earlier this year after the Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended restricting salmon fishing off the coasts of California and Oregon.

Ocean salmon fishing for Klamath River salmon is completely closed this year after the council predicted the lowest return of spawning Chinook salmon on record at about 12,000 fish.

Tribes, fishing organizations and North Coast representatives praised the governors’ requests on Thursday.

Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard

Not Just a Boys’ Club: Women Hooking Into Fishing Industry

April 28, 2017 — “At the beginning of my fishing career, all the world told me that the trade was for men,” says Chrifa Nimri, “but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain.”

The 69-year-old Tunisian fisherwoman is one of a very small female minority in a very male-dominated profession – commercial fishing.

Around the world, the dangerous work of hauling in the catch at sea is overwhelmingly performed by men. But if you expand the definition of fishing to include processers and marketers of seafood, workers in small-scale and artisanal fisheries, and collectors of clams and other shellfish, women account for a substantial part of the global industry.

Sara Skamser has worked in or around commercial fishing for nearly her entire adult life. In her early 20s, she arrived on the Oregon coast and collected her first paychecks salmon fishing and crabbing in local waters. Then Skamser asked for jobs on bigger boats home-ported in Newport — better pay and bigger adventure and all. But, she recalls, none of those skippers would hire her.

“No. They said no.” She mimics them. “’Uh, I know you could do the job. Gosh, you’re probably stronger than me. Uhhh, but I don’t think my wife would like it.’ Or, ‘Uhhh. I would feel terrible if you got hurt on my boat.'”

Read the full story at Voice of America

US legislators push for fisheries disaster relief in federal spending bill

April 28, 2017 — Congressional and White House negotiators made progress Tuesday on a must-pass spending bill to keep the federal government open days ahead of a deadline as President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. funding for a border wall with Mexico could wait until September.

“We’re moving forward on reaching an agreement on a bipartisan basis,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said, adding that he hoped that an agreement to fund the government through September can be reached in the next few days.

But a big stumbling block remains, involving a Democratic demand for money for insurance companies that help low-income people afford health policies under former President Barack Obama’s health law, or that Trump abandon a threat to use the payments as a bargaining chip. Trump’s apparent flexibility on the U.S.-Mexico wall issue, however, seemed to steer the Capitol Hill talks on the catchall spending measure in a positive direction.

Arriving in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, California 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said he will not be leveraged into supporting “bad policies” such as funding for a border wall, increased military spending and cuts to Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies.

“I am not going to vote for a government funding bill that includes overreaching poison pill provisions,” Huffman told the Times-Standard. “If we have a clean government funding bill, I will support it. But I am not going to be bullied into supporting bad policies in a sort of hijacking exercise with government funding.”

Huffman and a bipartisan group of 16 other legislators are urging congressional appropriation committees to include fisheries disaster funding in the spending bill for fishing fleets in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California, which includes the California crab fleet and the Yurok Tribe salmon fishing fleet.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Eureka Times-Standard

Congress working to prevent government shutdown; fishery disaster funds up in the air

April 26, 2017 — Congressional and White House negotiators made progress Tuesday on a must-pass spending bill to keep the federal government open days ahead of a deadline as President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. funding for a border wall with Mexico could wait until September.

“We’re moving forward on reaching an agreement on a bipartisan basis,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said, adding that he hoped that an agreement to fund the government through September can be reached in the next few days.

But a big stumbling block remains, involving a Democratic demand for money for insurance companies that help low-income people afford health policies under former President Barack Obama’s health law, or that Trump abandon a threat to use the payments as a bargaining chip. Trump’s apparent flexibility on the U.S.-Mexico wall issue, however, seemed to steer the Capitol Hill talks on the catchall spending measure in a positive direction.

Arriving in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, California 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said he will not be leveraged into supporting “bad policies” such as funding for a border wall, increased military spending and cuts to Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies.

“I am not going to vote for a government funding bill that includes overreaching poison pill provisions,” Huffman told the Times-Standard. “If we have a clean government funding bill, I will support it. But I am not going to be bullied into supporting bad policies in a sort of hijacking exercise with government funding.”

Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard

Letter calls for approval of fishery disaster funds

April 6, 2017 — A bipartisan group of congressional representatives sent a letter to House and Senate leaders Wednesday urging them to include disaster relief funds for nine West Coast crab and salmon fisheries in a government spending bill this month.

“The closures of commercial and recreational fisheries along the West Coast during the 2014, 2015, and 2016 fishing seasons caused severe economic hardship in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California,” the letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer states.

The House and Senate are set to vote on a government spending bill in the coming weeks that they must pass by midnight April 28 to prevent a government shutdown.

California 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) is among the 17 members of Congress who signed the letter. Huffman is asking Congress to approve millions of dollars for the North Coast crab fleet and the Yurok Tribe. In January, the former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker issued disaster declarations for nine fisheries along the West Coast, which allows Congress to appropriate relief funds.

Read the full story at the Eureka Times-Standard

Pacific Seafood Hires Policy Analyst

March 31, 2017 — The following was released by Pacific Seafood:

Pacific Seafood Group, a vertically integrated seafood harvesting, processing and distribution company headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon, recently hired former Ventura County Commercial Fishermen’s Association President, Jon Gonzalez, to handle national fisheries policy advocacy for the company.

Gonzalez, a former graphic designer, found himself drawn into federal fish policy a decade ago when serving as Assistant Director of the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center.  “I signed up to help stranded sea lions,” said Gonzalez, “and next thing I knew I was in the middle of a controversy between environmentalists and fishermen.”

Jon’s time as volunteer shaped his view of industry. “I discovered that there is a lot of misinformation out there, and that America’s fishing industry is filled with people who care deeply about the environment but also want to protect coastal jobs and communities.”

Gonzalez became a leading voice for commercial fishermen in California, advocating for them at the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the State Legislature, and in dozens of government and community forums.  He launched the website and blog eatUSseafood.com dedicated to protecting and promoting U.S. fisheries, and consulted with the Santa Barbara Sustainable Seafood Program to promote markets for domestically harvested seafood.

“We spotted Jon’s passion,” said Dan Occhipinti, Pacific Seafood’s General Counsel. “His talent and his dedication to promoting sustainably managed American fisheries—that’s what we’re all about. We are very excited to have him speak for Pacific Seafood.”

“I’m absolutely thrilled to represent Pacific Seafood. And marine mammals all across the globe should be thrilled too because when you support US fishermen, you are inherently saving marine mammals since US fisheries are arguably the most responsibly managed fisheries in the world” said Gonzalez.

Read the full story at Pacific Seafood 

PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL CHOOSES OPTIONS FOR 2017 SALMON SEASON

March 13, 2017 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

VANCOUVER, Wa. — The Pacific Fishery Management Council today adopted three public review alternatives for the 2017 salmon seasons off the West Coast of the United States. The Council will select a final alternative at their next meeting in Sacramento, California on April 6-11. Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open, and catch limits for all three alternatives are available on the Council’s website at www.pcouncil.org or http://tinyurl.com/salmon2017.

Fisheries south of Cape Falcon (in northern Oregon) are limited by the need to protect Klamath River fall Chinook, and south of Point Arena (in northern California), they are also affected by the need to protect Sacramento River winter Chinook. Returns of spawning Klamath River fall Chinook are projected to be the lowest on record in 2017 due to drought, disease, poor ocean conditions, and other issues. At the same time, the Council must protect Sacramento winter-run Chinook, which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Because both of these fish intermix with other stocks in the ocean, fisheries targeting more abundant stocks must be constrained.

“The salmon runs this year will present a challenge for ocean fishermen and managers throughout the West Coast,” said Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “In the north, several coho runs will keep ocean quotas lower than normal. In the south, the low forecast for Klamath River fall Chinook is unprecedented, and the most restrictive alternative the Council will consider allows no ocean fishing between Cape Falcon, Oregon and the U.S./Mexico border after April 30 this year.”

“This year will be an exceptionally difficult year for ocean salmon fisheries, especially in Oregon and California. However, there are alternatives that may provide at least limited opportunity for both commercial and recreational ocean salmon fishing along much of the coast,” said Council Chair Herb Pollard.

Northern Oregon and Washington (north of Cape Falcon)

Sport season alternatives

Ocean sport fishery options north of Cape Falcon in Oregon and off the Washington coast are focused on Chinook salmon this year. One alternative includes a mark-selective Chinook fishery in June, while all alternatives include Chinook fishing opportunity in June or July-September, which are not mark-selective. Chinook recreational quotas range from 40,000 to 54,500. For coho, two alternatives allow modest coastwide opportunity. One allows opportunity for 58,800 hatchery coho in late June through September; the other allows opportunity for 50,400 hatchery coho in late June through September. A third alternative permits limited coho fishing only in the Columbia River area between Cape Falcon and Leadbetter Point, with a coho quota of 18,900 hatchery coho that starts in July and runs into September.

Commercial season options

Non-Indian ocean commercial fishery alternatives north of Cape Falcon include traditional Chinook seasons between May and September. Chinook quotas for all areas and times range from 40,000 to 50,000, compared to 35,000 in 2016. Two commercial fishery alternatives allow retention of coho, with quotas of 5,600 and 9,600 marked coho (compared to only one alternative in 2016 with a quota of 7,200 marked coho). A third alternative prohibits coho retention in the commercial fishery.

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon

Chinook and coho quotas for tribal ocean fishery alternatives range from 30,000 to 50,000 for Chinook salmon, and from 12,500 to 40,000 for coho. Seasons open May 1 and run through September 15.

 California and southern Oregon (south of Cape Falcon) 

Sport season options

From the north, recreational season alternatives south of Cape Falcon are heavily constrained this year to protect Klamath River fall Chinook. Alternatives for Oregon Chinook fishing in the Tillamook, Newport, and Coos Bay areas all open March 15 and run either continuously through October 31 or are closed May through August.

Oregon ocean recreational alternatives include mark-selective coho fishing seasons starting in June or July, and running through July or into early August in the area between Cape Falcon and the Oregon/California border. Quotas range from 20,000 to 30,000 marked coho. In addition, a non-mark-selective fishery is proposed for the area between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mt. in September, with a quota of 10,000 coho.

Due to the poor status of Klamath River fall Chinook, none of the alternatives provide for Chinook–directed fisheries in the Klamath Management Zone, which extends from Humbug Mt., Oregon to Horse Mt., California. One alternative does include a mark-selective coho fishery in the Oregon portion of the Klamath Management Zone and extending north to Cape Falcon.

California ocean sport fishing alternatives for areas south of Horse Mountain provide seasons that are fairly conservative in comparison to recent years to protect Klamath River fall Chinook and Sacramento River winter Chinook. These protective measures include shortened seasons and mid-season closures.

Commercial season options

As with recreational seasons, commercial season alternatives south of Cape Falcon are heavily constrained this year to protect Klamath River fall Chinook. Chinook salmon seasons under Alternative 1 include an opening in the Tillamook and Newport areas from mid-April through October, with several closed periods.

In Alternative 2, the Tillamook, Newport and Coos Bay area seasons would be open most days beginning in mid-April through early June and two days in August. Under Alternative 3, commercial salmon fishing would be closed in these areas.

As in the sport fishery, commercial salmon fishing is not allowed in the Klamath Management Zone in any of the alternatives to protect Klamath River fall Chinook.

 

Commercial season alternatives south of the Klamath Management Zone are also heavily constrained this year to protect Klamath River fall Chinook and Sacramento River winter Chinook. In the Fort Bragg management area (Horse Mt. to Pt. Arena), two of the alternatives are completely closed, and the third only provides for a September fishery. There is more opportunity south of Pt. Arena, but seasons are still constrained compared to recent years. Two of the alternatives include August-October fisheries in the San Francisco management area (Pt. Arena to Pigeon Pt.) and May-June fisheries in the Monterey management area (Pigeon Pt. to the U.S./Mexico border), but the third alternative has these areas closed for the whole season.

Management Process

Public hearings to receive input on the alternatives are scheduled for March 27 in Westport, Washington and Coos Bay, Oregon; and for March 28 in Fort Bragg, California. The Council will consult with scientists, hear public comment, revise preliminary decisions and choose a final alternative at its meeting April 6-11 in Sacramento, California.

The Council will forward its final season recommendations to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its approval and implementation by May 1.

All Council meetings are open to the public.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3-200 miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. The Pacific Council recommends management measures for fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.