Video: Sustainable Salmon Fishing Policy for Oregon Proposed

Salmon: A history of overfishing

Published: Tuesday, August 03, 2010, 6:31 AM Oregonian "The Stump"
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2010/08/salmon_a_history_of_overfishin.html

In his recent guest column on The Stump, Raymond Collins blames a century of declining salmon runs on dams and habitat degradation. While I agree that these are two of the modern-day culprits, Collins simply cannot ignore the profound impact that 130 years of overfishing has had on Columbia River salmon. The fact is, our runs never recovered from the early days of commercial fishing and we never learned from our history.

In 1880 -- long before dams were built and logging was prevalent -- commercial fishing pressure was so intense in the lower Columbia River that just 20 miles inland from the ocean there were too few salmon to meet the demand of canneries. By 1894, the Oregon Fish and Game Protector declared, "It does not require a study of the statistics to convince one that the salmon industry has suffered a great decline during the past decade, and that it is only a matter of a few years under present conditions when the Chinook of the Columbia will be as scarce as the beaver that once was so plentiful in our streams. For a third of a century Oregon has drawn wealth from her streams, but now, by reason of her wastefulness and lack of intelligent provision for the future, the source of that wealth is disappearing and is threatened with annihilation. ..."

Maybe the next generation will learn from more than a century of mistakes, but by then our precious salmon will be extinct.

BRIAN CANINI
Keizer

Washington Mark Selective Fishing Rule Should Apply to Commercials

By Bryan Irwin
Sunday, May 16, 2010
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/may/16/selective-fishing-rule-should-be-extended/

SNIP

The decision also brings into sharp focus the dangers of the nonselective commercial gillnet fishery that continues to target these fish. This nonselective fishery for summer chinook, conducted since 2006, impacts not only wild Columbia summer chinook but five other salmon and steelhead stocks listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act also present in the river during fishing season. In light of this alarming mortality to wild and ESA-listed salmon populations, this fishery should not continue unless and until it can become fully mark selective.

While fishery managers have instituted more stringent rules to better protect wild salmon during the ESA-listed spring chinook fishery, commercial fishing for summer chinook is entirely nonselective. Accordingly, gillnetters need not gently handle and release wild chinook but will keep all chinook caught and sell them to the public. Unwittingly, their customers will buy depleted wild Columbia summer chinook with listed Snake River spring chinook and listed Snake River summer chinook. As if this immense bycatch of endangered salmon is not enough to turn the stomach, an unreported number of Snake River sockeye, Snake River summer steelhead and Columbia summer steelhead — all of which are listed under the ESA — will be maimed or killed by these nets to maintain this commercial fishery.

SNIP

The logic supporting nonselective gillnet fishery should trigger citizen alarm. First, managers argue that the wild Columbia summer chinook run, though very fragile, is not (yet) ESA listed, therefore a selective fishery has not been required. Next, due to extensive mortality caused by the nets in the warm water (40 percent or more) as well as the presence of many other nontarget species during the season, the gillnet fishery for summer chinook can’t be made selective.

Because gillnets suffocate fish before they can be selected, they are completely inappropriate for mixed stock, mark-selective salmon fisheries in which target and nontarget fish are virtually identical in size and run timing. In fact, there is no gillnet season more illustrative of the nonselective and wasteful nature of the gillnet than the Columbia summer chinook commercial fishery. A more prudent approach would be to simply close this fishery until selective means of commercial harvest, currently being tested, are required.

Oregon CCA Gillnet Ban Initiative Backers Submit Changes to Gain Sport Support

http://tnscommunicationswa.books.officelive.com/OregonGillNetBanUpdates.aspx
By Terry W. Sheely, The Reel News

Schamp, the primary motivator behind the ballot drive, acknowledged that, “The main criticism of the Protect Our Salmon Act initiative has been that this isn't the right process for this kind of change. Many feel that the legislature should have another crack at changing the laws to protect the fish and fisheries.

“We don't necessarily disagree,” he said, “but last session's failure to make any meaningful progress is the main reason why we launched the initiative.”

NSIA employs a legislative lobbyists and has for several years been pushing for change through the legislatures in Washington and Oregon. Both NSIA and CCA are targeting non-selective bycatch wastes of non-targeted salmon, steelhead and sturgeon in the existing commercial gillnet fishery.

Where they differ is on how the problem could and should be fixed.

NSIA is taking its fight to the state legislatures, CCA is going straight to the voters.

Wild Salmon Center Advocates For Selective Fishing

The state of Pacific salmon? Not so wild
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/05/the_state_of_pacific_salmon_no.html
May 04, 2010, 9:00AM
By Pete Rand

A growing number of new policy alternatives potentially are on the table, including: establishing protection for wild salmon to ensure against further loss of local populations; controlling the amount of hatchery fish that stray into streams supporting wild salmon; and encouraging fishing practices that reduce the take of wild salmon while selectively targeting hatchery fish. In certain cases, these approaches might require scaling back hatchery releases in the future or committing to experimental approaches to rigorously test our assumptions.

The challenges facing the region are daunting. In the lower 48 states, Pacific salmon recovery plans need to fully account for the true economic, environmental and social costs of hatchery fish. In Alaska, half of the salmon fishery now consists of hatchery fish, and there's interest within the fishing industry to further expand hatchery production. In Russia, there are federal plans to greatly expand hatchery production in the western Pacific region. Hatchery development in Japan remains a cautionary tale, where hatchery salmon currently dominate and relatively few wild salmon persist.

Without action, the story of wild Pacific salmon will remain the same: Spending on hatcheries is up, wild fish are down and there is no clear end in sight. These are outcomes we can no longer afford.

Pete Rand is a conservation biologist with State of the Salmon, a joint program of Portland-based Ecotrust and the Wild Salmon Center.

Gill-net fishing must be reformed

Published: Monday, January 18, 2010
http://heraldnet.com/article/20100118/OPINION02/701189993

Excellent Jan. 10 column in The Herald, “Who’s really in charge,” by Jerry Cornfield about the legislative session now under way, and a list of our legislative representatives by district.

One bill that has been introduced, HB 2266, is a ban on non-selective way of fishing by gill nets. The bill replaces it with selective methods, proven over the years to work, but deemed illegal many years back through the legislative process.

The importance to this is a law mandating that the Fish and Wildlife Commission make fishing available for commercial and sport fishers alike. Both groups are trying to catch hatchery fish, designated by a missing adipose fin, clipped at the hatchery before the fish are released as smolts.

The problem is that many wild fish that are listed as threatened or endangered are being caught while fishing for hatchery fish. Gill nets don’t allow you to sort and release the fish unharmed. Killing endangered fish and non-targeted fish like sturgeon, and also birds, is the issue. The law states that only targeted hatchery fish may be kept. All others must be released, but are usually dead.

Common sense would tell us that this wasteful method needs to be reformed.

Sport fishers already use selective methods and it is time that commercials fishers follow suit.

Hopefully, our legislators will want to preserve and protect a Washington state icon that represents us on our state quarter. Please take a few minutes to e-mail your legislators. They want to hear from you.

Lewis Boyd
Everett

CCA Launches Ballot Initiative to Recover Oregon's Iconic Salmon Runs

COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
Resource-First
Science-Based
Advocates for Marine Resources
BRIEFING DOCUMENT
for
Protect Our Salmon Act

Ensuring the sustainability of a vital natural and economic resource

The Issue...
Oregon’s wild salmon and steelhead runs, a vital natural resource, have dramatically declined, with many runs either extinct or endangered. While billions of dollars have been spent on recovery through habitat, hydro and hatchery improvements, a key issue has often been overlooked: the methods used to harvest salmon. The commercial fishing gear currently used in Columbia River salmon fisheries includes gill nets and tangle nets. Gill nets are designed to snare fish by the gills, leading to injury, suffocation and death. Due to their indiscriminate and destructive nature, gill
nets and tangle nets kill or injure large numbers of Endangered Species Act-listed and wild salmon, steelhead and other species. Ironically, Oregon – which strives to be a global leader in sustainability – is one of the few states in the country to still allow gill nets.

Banning the use of gill nets and tangle nets and using gear that can selectively harvest hatchery fish – while allowing for the release of wild fish – is an effective, achievable way to help recover wild salmon and steelhead and create a sustainable fishery. It provides a greater return on the investment that taxpayers have contributed to salmon recovery, and is consistent with Oregon’s commitment to the responsible and sustainable use of the state’s natural resources.

An initiative to sustain and recover Oregon’s salmon runs. The Protect Our Salmon Act bans the use of non-selective gill nets and tangle nets in Oregon waters -- including the Columbia River -- for catching salmon and other food fish. The Act also calls for the use of selective harvest practices.

Commercial Fishing Jobs Maintained. To minimize any economic impact to commercial fishermen who currently use gill nets or tangle nets, the Act establishes a fund (and appropriate oversight) to compensate commercial fishermen for the transition to alternative, selective gear that can harvest returning hatchery fish while protecting endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations.

Tribal fishing rights remain intact. The Protect Our Salmon Act is not intended to affect any tribal fishing rights, or the right to use any fishing gear allowed under tribal fishing rights in the waters of the state of Oregon established by laws, treaty or otherwise.

Coastal Conservation Association
BACKGROUND ON PROTECT OUR SALMON ACT

The worldwide emphasis on sustainability puts Oregon’s commitment to conservation in the spotlight. The state’s longstanding leadership on issues such as water quality, recycling, transportation and energy has nurtured a growing number of industries, policies and practices aimed at balancing economic health with the sustainability of
Oregon’s natural resources.

Oregon’s failure to protect and enhance the state’s wild salmon runs threatens the state’s credibility as a leader in conservation. Wild salmon, an important natural and economic resource, remain on the brink of extinction in many areas. Each year taxpayers, electric utility rate payers and others collectively contribute about $1 billion to recovery efforts, yet more than half of our region's salmon runs are extinct and others are in decline.

A key issue has been overlooked in efforts to recover the state’s salmon runs: the method of harvest. Currently, the commercial fishing gear used in many areas of the state (gill nets and tangle nets) is non-selective and kills large numbers of ESA-listed and wild salmon and steelhead. Gill nets are designed to “gill” fish snared in the nets,
leading to injury, suffocation and death before unharmed release is possible. Nearly all marine life that gets caught in a gill net dies, from salmon and steelhead to seals and seabirds. Oregon is one of the few places in the country to still allow gill nets, a method clearly at odds with the state’s long-standing commitment to sustainable practices.

Coastal Conservation Association is advancing an initiative to protect wild salmon and create sustainable salmon harvests. The Protect Our Salmon Act bans the use of gill nets and tangle nets in Oregon waters, including the Columbia River, and calls for the use of selective harvest practices.

To minimize any economic impact to commercial fishermen who currently use gill nets or tangle nets, the Act establishes a fund (and appropriate oversight) to compensate commercial fishermen for the transition to alternative, selective gear that can harvest returning hatchery fish while protecting endangered wild salmon and steelhead
populations. This selective gear was commonly used decades ago in Oregon’s waters and is currently being tested by state and tribal officials in Washington State.

The Act does not affect any tribal fishing rights, or the right to use any fishing gear allowed under tribal fishing rights in the waters of the state of Oregon established by laws, treaty or otherwise. Banning the use of gill nets and tangle nets and using selective gear that allows for the release of wild fish is an effective, achievable way to create a sustainable commercial and recreational fishery for the citizens of Oregon. It provides a greater return on the investment that taxpayers have contributed to salmon recovery, and is consistent with Oregon’s commitment to the responsible and sustainable use of the state’s natural resources.

News Release

Coastal Conservation Association
1006 W. 11th St. Vancouver, WA 98660
Email: bryan.irwin@ccapnw.org Web site: www.CCAPNW.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Bryan Irwin, 877-255-8772
CCA Helps Launch Ballot Initiative to Recover Oregon’s Iconic Salmon Runs

PORTLAND – Coastal Conservation Association is launching a ballot initiative to help save the last remnants of Oregon’s iconic wild salmon runs, and to create a sustainable salmon fishery for current and future generations. The Protect Our Salmon Act would ban the use of gill nets and tangle nets in Oregon waters, including the Columbia River.
The Act calls for the use of commercial fishing practices that selectively harvest returning hatchery fish, while protecting endangered wild salmon, steelhead and other species.

“Oregon’s failure to protect and enhance our wild salmon runs threatens the state’s credibility as a leader in sustainability,” said Dave Schamp, Chairman of Coastal Conservation Association’s Oregon Board of directors and a chief petitioner of the initiative. “Each year taxpayers, electric utility rate payers and others collectively contribute about $1 billion to recovery efforts, yet wild salmon, an important natural and economic resource for our state, remain on the brink of extinction.”

While habitat, hydro and hatchery improvements are important to salmon recovery efforts, a key issue has been overlooked: the method of harvest. Currently, the commercial fishing gear used in the Columbia River (gill nets and tangle nets) is nonselective and kills large numbers of ESA-listed and wild salmon and steelhead. Gill nets
are designed to “gill” fish snared in the nets, leading to injury, suffocation and death before unharmed release is possible. Nearly all marine life that gets caught in a gill net dies, from salmon and steelhead to seals and seabirds. Oregon is one of the few places in the country to still allow gill nets, a method clearly at odds with the state’s longstanding commitment to sustainable practices.

To minimize any economic impact to commercial fishermen who currently use gill nets or tangle nets, the Act establishes a fund (and appropriate oversight) to compensate commercial fishermen for the transition to alternative, selective gear. The Act does not affect any tribal fishing rights, or the right to use any fishing gear allowed under tribal fishing rights in the waters of the state of Oregon established by laws, treaty or otherwise. CCA members will immediately begin to gather signatures to place this issue on the ballot in November of 2010.

“Banning the use of gill nets and tangle nets and using selective gear that allows for the release of wild fish is an effective, achievable way to create a sustainable commercial and recreational fishery for the citizens of Oregon,” said Schamp. “It provides a greater return on the investment that taxpayers have contributed to salmon recovery, and is consistent with Oregon’s commitment to the responsible and sustainable use of the state’s natural resources.”

Coastal Conservation Association is a non-profit organization comprised of 200 chapters in 17 coastal states spanning the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In 2007, CCA expanded into the Pacific Northwest and the organization has quickly grown to more than 9,000 members and continues to launch chapters in both Oregon and
Washington. As the largest marine conservation organization in the country, CCA’s grassroots influence is felt through state capitals, U.S. Congress and, most importantly, in the conservation and restoration of our marine resources.