Counties continue joint fishery efforts

Commissioners from four lower Columbia River counties continue to evolve their collaborative effort for a united lobbying front on fishery issues.

Members of the boards of commissioners of Wahkiakum, Pacific, Clatsop and Columbia counties met Monday in Cathlamet to go over their efforts.

The group began meeting about a year ago at the suggestion of Wahkiakum commissioners in order to represent what they see as the interests of area commercial and recreational fishermen after fishery managers allowed very short lower river spring salmon seasons in 2008.

Since then, the group has mounted lobbying efforts in other areas such as the planning of fish habitat enhancement efforts.

Pacific County Commissioner John Kaino reported the united front seemed to carry weight when he presented a letter and comments at a recent Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting.

The board had allocated 20 minutes on their agenda for his discussion, he said, and the session lasted an hour.

Kaino said he had wanted to impress on the commission members the importance of the commercial fishing industry to economy of lower river communities and that, properly managed, commercial fisheries can be more selective than sport fisheries, which lessens their impact on specific endangered runs.

"More than one board member would like the commercial fishery to go away," he said. "I think it's an rural-urban issue."

The group discussed comments which members want to make on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife process to update its fish management plan. Members agreed they wanted to draft a jointly-signed letter asking for equitable treatment of recreational and commercial fisheries.

The group invited Skamokawa commercial fisherman Kent Martin to share his comments on the draft plan. He responded that it lacked much scientific background for its conclusions and policies.

"I didn't get the feeling that there was much feeling for the people involved in harvest, sport or commercial," he said. "It had a very urban point of view, that harvest is a social problem. There is a vast gulf between scientific opinion and the opinions of scientists.

"In the plan, I found no recognition that some of these watersheds are altered so much that they will no longer support runs."

Clatsop Commissioner John Raichl reported he has contacted that Columbia River Tribal Fisheries Commission, and that group would like to be part of the lower river group.

Raichl said he would try to schedule a meeting with tribal representatives in June.