Fisheries issues a complicated web

Fishermen and public officials from the lower Columbia River area continue to watch salmon run numbers and fishery management agencies to see what further harvest opportunities may be scheduled.

County commissioners from Clatsop and Wahkiakum counties met Monday as part of a four-county group that meets to lobby on fishery issues ranging from salmon catch to off shore fishing closures.

The commissioners heard of the demise of a proposed bill in the Oregon legislature to ban commercial fishing on the mainstem of the Columbia, and they agreed to speak out on other fishery issues.

Also Monday, the recreational angling season ended, with anglers saying the high and cold water reduced their catch.

Commercial netters got their second chance as the spring chinook run yesterday morning. In the afternoon, after The Eagle had gone to press, the Columbia River Compact planned to meet and discuss further recreational openings.

The Compact limited commercial boats to a maximum of six adipose fin clipped chinook on each participating vessel on Wednesday. This was a new concept for lower Columbia River salmon fisheries. The Compact adopted it as a likely means of allowing the commercial fleet to reach its catch quota for the upriver spring run, 1,900 fish.

Other options included postponing commercial fishing until later in the season or allowing boats on the water for a short period, which could potentially lead to exceeding the quota.

River flows this season have been higher than average due to heavy rainfall, fishery managers said. Tributary run off has contributed to poor visibility. River temperatures are below average, measuring around 40 F, compared to the 10-year average of 44 F.

Through March 20, the total recreational catch of upriver fish was nearly identical to the preseason expectation, 1,242 through March 20 compared to 1,182 expected. The number of upriver spring Chinook--kept plus release mortalities--available to the recreational fishery below Bonneville Dam prior to a run size update is 7,743 fish.

Monday, commissioners from Clatsop and Wahkiakum counties heard a presentation on off shore fishing grounds closures and discussed salmon fishery issues.

Retired commercial fisherman Bernie Bjork and off-shore recreational fishery activist Dean Ferguson urged the commissioners to oppose further closure of off shore bottom fishing grounds.

Already bottom fishing is severly restrict off the Washington coast, and along the Oregon coast, 98 percent of the grounds are closed.

Now National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) is being pressed by environmental groups to make further closures that, the men said, aren't necessary for the recovery of stocks, which are already rebounding from overfishing.

"To help fishing families stay in business, stay engaged in the process," Bjork said. "Follow the issues and comment."

The commissioners agreed to draft a letter for joint signature.

Wahkiakum Commissioner Dan Cothren and Skamokawa gillnetter Kent Martin, who also serves on fishery advisory councils, reported on their trip to Salem to lobby the Oregon legislature to reject a bill that would have banned commercial fishing on the mainstem of the Columbia. Fishermen would have been restricted to waters such as Grays Bay and Youngs Bay.

Despite heavy lobbying by recreational fishing interests, the bill did fail, the men said.

"It became an urban versus rural issue," Cothren said, "the upriver sports versus the lower river sport and commercial communities. They want the lower river to give up all their fish so they can have them."

"The bill is dead for this year," Martin said. "Look for an initiative in the future."

Martin also urged the commissioners to follow and comment on proposed hatchery program reduction championed by NMFS, which is pressuring state agencies to end hatchery production in favor of naturally spawning wild fish. This would mean a severe reduction in both sport and commercial fishing, he said.

Another pressure on salmon runs is the harvest of Columbia fish in Canadian and Alaskan waters, Martin said. Allocations there are traded through treaties for US impacts on Fraser River stocks coming out of Canada.

Western Wahkiakum County resident Art Hyland urged the group to press for control of salmon predators such as terns, cormorants and sea lions, which are impacting runs in Columbia waters.

The commissioners agreed to look into the issue and planned to invite a speaker on the subject to their next joint meeting which would be in July.