Eric Schindler email correcting my bad posted info on CR Ocean closure

[BIGALSURF]

I recently complained about the ocean closure off the CR. I stated, incorrectly, that the quota hadn't been changed from last year. I also said that I thought it hadn't been wise to go to 7 day season early in the summer if it ended up shutting down fishing in Sept., and I had assumed that this decision originated with Marine fisheries. That ruling did, however the request for that ruling came from private sources, so they were doing what we the public had collectively requested.

So, I screwed up in providing those two pieces of information and want to set the record straight, so Eric gave me permission to reprint his email and here it is.

I do think that all of us would be willing to trade some weekdays in July of non-fishing for salmon for a guarantee that Labor Day Weekend will be open, and I'd sure like to hear from others if that is their thinking too. One person made an excellent point, and that was that many of the guys on this board are targeting tuna in July, and it sounds like the charter people are the ones who want 7 day a week fishing in July, so if we want our particular case made in this situation we should email Eric and give him our thoughts.

Managing a restricted resource must be an extremely difficult job, however, I'm sure that Eric would love to have as much input as possible when the tough calls have to be made.

Please note that the beginning of his response came from my questions about the catch rate for Wa vs. Or off the Columbia, which is about a 3 to 1 ratio, and it sounds like much of that is attributable to the large number of charters running out of Ilwaco.

Thanks to all,

Alex:

You have plenty of good questions, and I will try to cover them all. If you still have more, please give me a call, it is often much easier to cover some of this material on the phone.

As far as the Washington catch estimation process, you would need to contact the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to verify with them their methodology for estimating catch from the Washington side of the Columbia. I can say from my contacts with Washington over the years that their methodology is very similar to what we use in Oregon (you can find a detailed description of our general methods on line at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/salmon/ go to the link for “Catch Estimation in the Ocean Sport Fishery”). The basic tenets of the ocean catch estimates involve first getting a count of boats that go to the ocean (one count for private boats and a separate count for charter boats), then get an average catch per boat (again a separate catch rate for charters and privates), and then apply the catch rate to the appropriate effort.

The differences in effort and catch between the Washington side and the Oregon side are due to several factors. First, the Ilwaco charter fleet is much larger than the Oregon fleet. Second, many Oregon boats will launch at Ilwaco due to the shorter run to the ocean than from Oregon ports. The 3+ times ratio that you see in the catch has been standard for as long as we have been making the catch estimates. Many of the boats leaving Oregon (Warrenton, Hammond, and Astoria) at this time of year are fishing in the estuary and not going to the ocean, and that can give the impression that there is more ocean effort from Oregon than is really occurring.

The data from the two states is combined into a single catch estimate for the area, but the catch information is also available for the states individually. You can review the Oregon catch information at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/salmo...ing/nofspt.asp

The hatchery coho forecast this year was 593,600 coho (564,400 from the Columbia system). This was up from a hatchery forecast in 2006 of 398,800 (359,600 from the Columbia). That equates to a 49% increase in hatchery abundance. Please keep in mind that catch quotas are driven much more by impacts to natural coho populations, and with most coho fisheries being hatchery selective, those impacts are modeled out. There are also legal constraints on fisheries and limits imposed through specific fishery management plans and goals. In other words, a doubling in the hatchery coho forecast could result in a quota that goes down, stays the same, doubles, or quadruples; the quota simply isn’t directly tied to the hatchery forecast.

Now the reality is that the recreational coho quota in the Columbia River ocean area this year was 58,800 coho. In 2006, the coho quota in the Columbia River ocean area was 36,600 coho. That is a 61% increase in the quota this year over last year, and actually is consistent with the increase in the hatchery coho forecast. In addition, the recreational coho quota in the fishery South of Cape Falcon in 2006 was only 20,000 coho and this year it is 50,000 coho which equates to a 250% increase in the quota.

Issues like the 7 days per week vs. 5 days per week regulatory option are usually at the recommendation of the fishing community/fishery representatives. As fishery managers we listen to the anglers and charter operators in setting those types of parameters to the season. I can’t give you specifics on why the fishing industry representatives recommended going with 7 vs. 5 days/week this year, but I can say that this was not an ODFW/WDFW driven request. I have heard comments that the fishing industry wanted to make sure to be able to use up their quota, that the 5 day per week fishery was keeping tourists away from the area, etc.

I have heard both positive and negative comments about the 7 day option this year and the net result, but Steve Watrous who is the recreational fishing representative from the Columbia River area to the Salmon Advisory Subpanel (SAS) of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) seemed very happy with how the fishery worked this year. You may want to contact Steve and discuss your concerns with him. Contact information for Steve and the rest of the SAS is available on the PFMC’s website (www.pcouncil.org) and the direct link to the SAS roster is http://www.pcouncil.org/operations/rosters/sas.pdf

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Sincerely,


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eric Schindler, Supervising Biologist
Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Marine Resources Program
2040 SE Marine Science Dr.
Newport, OR 97365
(541)867-0300 x252
e-mail: eric.d.schindler@state.or.us
FAX: (541)867-0311
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[Pete]

Nice response from Eric. I only dispute one point. Steve Watrous is nominally the sport fishing representative, but his positions are highly supportive of the charter industry and tolerant of commercial overharvest. He's not the horse I'd hitch my interests to, given a choice.

[BIGALSURF]

Originally Posted by Pete

Nice response from Eric. I only dispute one point. Steve Watrous is nominally the sport fishing representative, but his positions are highly supportive of the charter industry and tolerant of commercial overharvest. He's not the horse I'd hitch my interests to, given a choice.

Interesting point, maybe emails direct to Eric would be useful for ifishers oriented at tuna july and salmon fishing later in the summer in the ocean?

[ron m]

Bigalsurf, I commend you for acknowledging that you had some inaccuracies in your statement and posting the info from Eric.
ron m

[BIGALSURF]

Thanks, I felt bad spreading incorrect info, wanted to make sure it was corrected. I realized long ago to my bitter disappointment that I wasn't perfect!