Marine Angling Regulations - Public Proposals

[garyk]

From the main IFish forum, here's the angling regulation changes proposed by the public (verbatim) for the Marine Zone. Looks like the review board meets this weekend to make the initial cut. On the main board, a Review Board members is asking for input on which proposals ought to receive a full public process airing?

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2009 ANGLING REGULATION
REVIEW BOARD MEETING – March 8, 2008
CRITERIA – 2009 ANGLING REGULATION PUBLIC PROPOSALS

Marine Zone Public Proposals
342P Pacific Ocean; Create Groundfish Harvest Card. Limits, 10 ling cod, 50 rockfish per season (am not proposing these number necessarily). Purpose, prevent over harvest of ground fish.

343P Pacific Ocean; manage Sea Lions. Control population, don’t care if you shoot them, castrate them, introduce some Killer Whales, or put them all on the pill. PLEASE get rid of about half of them.

344P Pacific Ocean; no new Oregon Coast Sanctuaries.

345P Pacific Ocean, WinchesterBay, UmpquaRiver mainstem; allow angler to harvest first 2 salmon caught. Only 6 non-adipose fin-clipped salmon may be recorded on a Harvest Tat. At that point, the sportsman has reached the salmon limit (all salmon) for the year. Purpose; protect silver salmon from loss due to catch and release handling.

346P Pacific Ocean; change ocean salmon bag limits. Rule should be catch 2 salmon per day (marked or unmarked) and a maximum total of 10 for the year. Purpose, reduce regulation complexity that does little to conserve stocks.
Similar to 174P in 2005.

347P Pacific Ocean, anglers must retain first two coho salmon caught regardless of hatchery raised or not.

248P Pacific Ocean, change existing rockfish regulations. Proposed rule; catch for the day is 2 ling cod, 6 rockfish and a maximum of 10 ling cod and 30 rockfish for the year.Fish must be marked on a tag same as salmon. Purpose, reduce complex regulations that do little to conserve stocks. (Similar to proposal 342P).

249P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day or a seasonal limit.Purpose, to keep fishery sustainable.

350P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day like it was in the past. Concern because tuna are susceptible to histamine poisoning if not chilled below 40° F within a short period of time.

351P Pacific Ocean, Halibut regulations; Divide the halibut fishing zones long the Oregon Coast, and quotas, into zones that are similar to sport ocean salmon. Zones would include Columbia, Tillamook, Newport, CoosBay and Brookings. The halibut Commission would still be in charge of establishing sport-fishing quotas.

352P Pacific Ocean, Recreational Crabbing seasons. Proposed rule; revoke August 15 –November 30 closure, allow ocean to be open year around to recreational Dungeness crabbing. Purpose, enhances angler access to very abundant resource, particularly during the August – October period when ocean conditions are favorable to small sport boats. Reduces crowding and conflicts in popular bay/estuary crabbing areas.

353P Oregon’s Bays and Beaches form California Border to Tillamook Head in ClatsopCounty. Expand closed seasons and areas for commercial harvest south of Tillamook Head. Proposed rule; It is unlawful to take for commercial purposes; (2) Razor clams from the beach and in the bays from the California border north to Tillamook Head in ClatsopCounty. Razor clams from July 15 through September 30 in the area north of Tillamook Head, ClatsopCounty. Purpose, the population density of razor clams south of Tillamook is not sufficient to meet the needs of recreational clam diggers.

354P Oregon Tidal Zone Beaches, razor clam rules; allow discretionary increase of daily harvest amount to 24 razor clams per day.

[Pilar]

342P Pacific Ocean; Create Groundfish Harvest Card. Limits, 10 ling cod, 50 rockfish per season (am not proposing these number necessarily). Purpose, prevent over harvest of ground fish.

Ling cod are recovering and quickly. Why limit that further if the present regs and restrictions are working?

Yeah maybe rockfish would benefit from a punch card. But make it 10 per year.

249P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day or a seasonal limit.Purpose, to keep fishery sustainable.

350P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day like it was in the past. Concern because tuna are susceptible to histamine poisoning if not chilled below 40° F within a short period of time.

Rules already exist prohibiting waste of game fish and animals. What we lack is enforcement. More rules will not help that. We don't need a tighter limit. If you don't want 25 then don't catch 25. I don't know where they get a 10 fish limit in the past. Never heard of it. Also read UC Davis report on Scombroidosis. It takes an elevated temperature for a long period of time to cause it. Everyone I know here that catches TUNA takes very nice care of it. Anyone who does not quickly figures it out at the cleaning station when they try to clean their 'hot' bloody fish next to bled out and properly iced fish that are most that I see.

Is anyone else here sick of doing things in Oregon just because California is doing it?

347P Pacific Ocean, anglers must retain first two coho salmon caught regardless of hatchery raised or not.

This demonstrates a lack of understanding about angler impacts. Non-fin clipped releases are a lower impact than 100% retention.

This is a one way trip to a one week or even shorter salmon season.

Who made these proposals?

[CATCH AND EAT]

I'm sorry these are just plain stupid. These changes come from where?

[Tip-Sea]

I agree with Pilar that we are seeing an increase in Lings so why change a good thing? I would be ok with the limit of rock fish to 50 a year. I feel putting the number to low would be a negative impact to the charter boats and the community's of the Oregon coast. As far as tuna, I don't feel I have adequate information on tuna numbers to share an opinion but, seems to me like 15 tuna per trip should be plenty of fish for anyone.

[Nalu]

With regard to the tuna limits....

The % of tuna that is taken by the sport fleet is so small in comparison to the commercial take that any reduction in sport limits will not make any difference in the overall health of the fishery.

Prior to artificially lowering recreational limits strictly as "feel good" measures, a better grasp and allocation of commercial harvest should be identified.

Anyone have an idea what the "quota" is for commercial harvest of albacore tuna off the Oregon Coast? None.

[259]

Originally Posted by 347P Pacific Ocean, anglers must retain first two coho salmon caught regardless of hatchery raised or not.

[COLOR=red

This demonstrates a lack of understanding about angler impacts. Non-fin clipped releases are a lower impact than 100% retention. [/COLOR]

This is a one way trip to a one week or even shorter salmon season.

Who made these proposals?

I’ll comment on the Coho…Just my experience from a two day trip...Last year my family did two days of Coho fishing in Tillamook. The majority of fish we hooked in two days were native so we kept fishing trying to get our two fish limit. I spoke to several others experiencing the same scenario those days. I have to believe that if we would have kept the first two, native or not, there would have been less of a chance for loss. We had to have hooked at least fifty!

[CATCH AND EAT]

Originally Posted by 259

I’ll comment on the Coho…Just my experience from a two day trip...Last year my family did two days of Coho fishing in Tillamook. The majority of fish we hooked in two days were native so we kept fishing trying to get our two fish limit. I spoke to several others experiencing the same scenario those days. I have to believe that if we would have kept the first two, native or not, there would have been less of a chance for loss. We had to have hooked at least fifty!

With respect, if you find yourself in a school of natives you would be better off moving away from those particular fish and searching for hatchery fish.

[259]

Originally Posted by CATCH AND EAT

With respect, if you find yourself in a school of natives you would be better off moving away from those particular fish and searching for hatchery fish.

No offense taken. I’m pretty new at most of this and I did not realize natives and clipped didn’t school together. This was a two day trip and nothing changed for both days. I just thought the natives outnumbered the clipped.

[garyk]

Originally Posted by CATCH AND EAT

I'm sorry these are just plain stupid. These changes come from where?

Submitted by the public, during the public process. Happens every three years.

See the main forum for all 41 pages of proposed regulation changes.

[Bucolic buffalo]

345P regarding salmon harvest at Winchester Bay and the Umpqua. Winchester Bay and Florence both take it in the shorts during the summer because of the lack of near shore bottom fishing reefs. To limit the salmon numbers to 6 only would really kill the sport fishing there. Winchester Bay and the Umpqua have a good fin clip program going that is successful. If that were to be the limit then maybe the whole coast should share the pain. It shouldn't even be a consideration.

[ron m]

342P Pacific Ocean; Create Groundfish Harvest Card. Limits, 10 ling cod, 50 rockfish per season (am not proposing these number necessarily). Purpose, prevent over harvest of ground fish.

Ling stocks are in good shape and most of the rockfish stocks are also. Presently ODFW makes in-season changes when needed to keep the rockfish take within the quota. I see no need to change that since they are doing a pretty darn good job of it.

345P Pacific Ocean, WinchesterBay, UmpquaRiver mainstem; allow angler to harvest first 2 salmon caught. Only 6 non-adipose fin-clipped salmon may be recorded on a Harvest Tat. At that point, the sportsman has reached the salmon limit (all salmon) for the year. Purpose; protect silver salmon from loss due to catch and release handling.

This sounds like a reaction to low salmon abundance the past few years and this year will also have low abundance. But the scientists say that is due at least in part to ocean conditions. historically the abundance of salmon has gone thru cycles and we are in a low cycle now. let ODFW set the regulations based on the salmon forecast, not on the present condition of the stocks.

249P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day or a seasonal limit.Purpose, to keep fishery sustainable.

350P Pacific Ocean; Tuna Limits. Reduce from 25 to 10 fish per day like it was in the past. Concern because tuna are susceptible to histamine poisoning if not chilled below 40° F within a short period of time.

My boat has yet to bring in 10 fish per person for a day and it's not likely that I will ever want to do that. However, I see no reason to lower the limit for everyone just because I don't want that many. Some folks may be able to go only once during the year and want -and will use- more than 10 fish in that one day. Not every year will be like last year and if we have a year when the tuna do not come in close except for maybe for a few days, the I predict more folks will want more fish if they can get them on those few days. I would feel very differently if the stocks were diminished or in danger, but they are in good shape now. Also, as said above, the sports take is a very small percent of the take. And yes, that's no reason to allow folks to take fish they won't use, but there are already laws regulating that. (as noted above)

351P Pacific Ocean, Halibut regulations; Divide the halibut fishing zones long the Oregon Coast, and quotas, into zones that are similar to sport ocean salmon. Zones would include Columbia, Tillamook, Newport, CoosBay and Brookings. The halibut Commission would still be in charge of establishing sport-fishing quotas.

I don't see what this would accomplish. The halibut quotas would most likely be distributed based on historical catch data. If this was done, then the YE impact would probably also be distributed and some ports might not like that, others would. I'm not necessarily against this, but don't understand the intent or purpose. If it doesn't accomplish anything, then why have it?

[KeyWest]

I support catch limits when they are justified for fish management tools. I do not support catch limits just because we can.

So - I support the rockfish harvest card and subsequent cap.

I do not support the cap on Tuna or Lings as current population counts do not support the need for these caps.

[Waytogo]

Originally Posted by 259

No offense taken. I’m pretty new at most of this and I did not realize natives and clipped didn’t school together. This was a two day trip and nothing changed for both days. I just thought the natives outnumbered the clipped.

[Waytogo]

so called native do school with the hatchery fish here on the umqua only 25% of hatchery fish get clipped.others I have talked to from other areas say the same. just bcus it has an adipose does not make it wild.--Mike--waytogo--

[ron m]

Originally Posted by 259

I did not realize natives and clipped didn’t school together. This was a two day trip and nothing changed for both days. I just thought the natives outnumbered the clipped.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I've usually found fin-clipped mixed with non-fin clipped coho when I've found a school of fish. One year we were fishing right with a bunch of other boats, trolling the same patterns, we got our 6 fish while releasing only 1 and the other boats were catching mostly non-clipped coho. There is a large element of randomness associated with what you catch if there is a mixed school. Just because half the school has clipped fins does not mean that half the fish you catch will be clipped. Think of is as dealing a hand of 6 cards out of a regular deck. half of the cards in the deck are red, yet rarely do you get 3 red and 3 black cards. The same type of randomness applies to catching fish out of a school of mixed clipped and non-clipped.
ron m