Commission Meeting

RFA Janice · 08-10-2002, 09:26 AM

yesterday was the longest Commission meeting I have ever attended. Commissioners did not stop for dinner! We were heard about 8:00p.m. Kudos to all the Ifishers who hung in there and testified about the importance of getting a nearshore plan into place and about the potential upcoming regulatory impact on us if the yelloweye thing turns out badly.

The good news is that the Commissioners seemed very worried about the nearshore, and intent on trying to protect it from overfishing through the ballooning livefish fishery. There is also worry about getting a handle on some index of flatfish species numbers, so that they don't get overfished in a greatly increased flatfish trawl.

Again, thanks to all of you who participated.

sturgn · 08-10-2002, 10:09 AM

Damn I had to leave ond go back to work, I stopped back over at 6 and tought it was all over...... crap well thanks to the ones that stayed!

Deepslayer · 08-10-2002, 11:13 PM

Nice seeing you there sturgn. After wading through the gal thinking ODFW mistreats racoons, the other one thinking they mistreat bears, the guy whose eel data was plagarized, the mad cow elk report and the guy proposing that the boat fishes until it limits not the angler, besides not filling out your tags until you are done fishing (I like those two). I had to leave and go back to work for a long meeting. I didn't realize the meeting would last that long or I would have been back after 6.
A heartfelt thanks to those who stayed, and please fill us in on the details.,Ed

sturgn · 08-10-2002, 11:17 PM

I was wondering if I was the only one who wanted to go smack the Racoon lady around a bit? Just kidding would never do that, but its a wonder the Commision gets anything done with the crap they have to wade through! And dont get me started on the bears the Tree huggers chose bear problems when they voted to ban dogs and bait, and its only going to get worst.....I like the boat limit though.

Snakebite · 08-10-2002, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RFA Janice:
yesterday was the longest Commission meeting I have ever attended. Commissioners did not stop for dinner! We were heard about 8:00p.m. Kudos to all the Ifishers who hung in there and testified about the importance of getting a nearshore plan into place and about the potential upcoming regulatory impact on us if the yelloweye thing turns out badly.

The good news is that the Commissioners seemed very worried about the nearshore, and intent on trying to protect it from overfishing through the ballooning livefish fishery. There is also worry about getting a handle on some index of flatfish species numbers, so that they don't get overfished in a greatly increased flatfish trawl.

Again, thanks to all of you who participated.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Well, here I go again. I have to admit that my opinion here is my own personal one because I work for the fisheries managers, and I don't want to lose my job because of it. As a private individual however, I do have an opinion and have constitutional rights to do so. So, after that disclaimer I'll offer up my thoughts.

Yes! there is much concern about the live fish fishery by ODFW! Personnally I don't think we should have let it happen in the first place. ther are two schools of thought on this issue. the first being that it is a value added fishery with the price to the fisher being a quantum leap above the price for a fresh fish(dead), and there's the Ad velorum taxes that the state gets as a result. Secondly there are a bunch of commercial fishers that have relied on the nearshore opportunities here for a long time, and I don't want to see them get screwed by some moratorium. After attending the Astoria meeting and putting my foot in my mouth (you who were there know what I'm talking about) I realise that there is alot of potential for some serious conflicts between the commercial and sport sides of things.

On the issue of a nearshore flatfish commercial effort, my opinion is that this is a resource that has not been utilised to any degree in the past because of the market. No flatfish trawler wants to fish for something they can't sell. Sure, there's some marketable species there, but finding that market is difficult, and efficiently harvesting what is marketable is marginal. I don't see a groundswell of interest in going there. With the potential of little or no other options, there is the possiblity, but I would be suprized to see much effort in that direction. The other side of the issue is that it appears that the stocks of the flatfish inside of 100 fathoms appear to be very healthy. Partly due to to the fact that the exploitation rate is low, and mysterious ocean conditions seem to support them as of late.

that's my tach on the issue for now, I'm going to go get a beer!

Pilar · 08-11-2002, 07:51 AM

Thanks Janice for posting and thank you all who sat through the endless meeting.

Please take a moment now, all of you who are concerned about this issue to write a letter and send it to the commision.

The point that seemed to hit home at the meeting is as follows.

First an explanation....

There is an interim nearshore plan likely to be approved soon. This involves limiting the number of boats fishing in the live fish or limited entry. The action would reduce the fleet to about 90 boats from 190.

Meanwhile the stocks affected have not been assessed and the allowed take is a guestimate. The types of gear allowed and the number of traps or lines per boat remains unrestricted. Washington state has closed it's nearshore to commercial fishing while it does a rethink of stocks, allowed take and methods.

This point about Washington 'solving' it's management nightmare by closure was repeated several times by commision members and public comment.

My point was why not close the nearshore to commercial live fishing temporarily and get a handle on how many fish there are, how many can be taken and how to adjust methods and numbers of pots or lines to make a sustainable fishery.

The reaction was rewarding. Chairman Esler said (paraphrase) 'I don't want to chair the commision that screws this up.' And vice chair Denmore said that he would nominate a temporary 2 year moratorium on the live fishery in a future meeting. The only opposition came from commisioner Feldner who claimed that the recreationer fishers were also capable of decimating the stocks. Also that the hardship should not be for commercial fishers only.

All in all I would say that the commision is beginning to feel the gravity of the situation and pay it the proper attention.

For more details E mail me and I'll tell you more.

blubeast · 08-11-2002, 02:04 PM

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The commission wants to hear from YOU! Please do as Pilar suggests... write a letter, attend a hearing and get the facts.

Those who were at the Friday hearing saw this first hand. The ODFW Staff was trying to impose a limit on commercial crab pots... and were pushing the commission to implement their plan. After hearing from several crabbers who voiced their displeasure with the staff's plan, the Commission sent the staff back to the crabbers to try again and come up with a more fair plan.

The ODFW commissioners are very concerned about preserving near shore fish stocks for the future. They sincerely appreciated the comments from Pilar and the others on this topic.

avid · 08-11-2002, 03:16 PM

Pilar,

Please tell us where to send the letters and to whom they should be addressed.

Dear ??????,

TIA

Salmonator · 08-11-2002, 07:23 PM

After hanging out for four hours and having to leave before the show, I have to say that I really appreciate everybody that is showing up for these things and getting the job done. I had to arrange a sitter and organize around my wifes work schedule just to show up for the little time I did and can't imagine the strings you guys are pulling (and the sleep you're probably losing) to make this happen. Once again, thanks and it was also nice to meet some more ifish'ers (don't worry *** your secret is safe with me!

)

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 08-11-2002, 07:54 PM

Salmonator

I have a secret? :grin: :grin: :grin:

It was nice meeting everyone�

OceanBlue · 08-12-2002, 06:49 AM

Well, I must say that I learned more about Chronic Wasting Disease than I ever thought I wanted to know. (If you hunt outside of Oregon, leave those deer and elk carcasses behind, okay?)

But seriously, please do write... stay posted here Preserve our Coastal Waters
for information. There is information there about where to write. We will be posting a new "sample letter" soon.

One of the commissioners actually recommended we turn the coast into a "marine sanctuary"... I absolutely disagree with this approach. The coastal communities would die. I don't have statistical data, but I'd be willing to bet folks don't spend money on the Oregon coast to look at the bottom-fish. They certainly don't travel to Oregon to do it.

But this very statement about creating a marine sanctuary shows the level of concern among the commission. And although I wouldn't support a marine sanctuary, I most certainly would support a moratorium on the commercial live fish fishery. I'd even support a moratorium on recreational fishing if that's what it took to get a better assessment of stocks in order to put a meaningful plan in place. Losing our ocean fishing for 6 months, a year, even 2 years is better than losing it for a lifetime.

It sure was great to chat with other ifishers at the meeting. Also had a chance to meet and chat with Don Bodenmiller who is just a super guy and genuinely happy to see the involvement of recreational fishers.

Congrats (read "condolences" :grin: ) to Janice who was accepted as an advisor to the Developmental Fisheries Board with absolutely no qualms by the commissioners.

Oh, and the issue of halibut derby days was brought up, too... The brief discussion on that topic was lively. Look for a petition to sign in order to change the way that works, too. I'm going to try and get that scanned and posted soon.

Slow Roll · 08-13-2002, 11:31 PM

I am very appreciative of all those who have been able to be our voice at these meetings. I wanted to attend Friday's meeting but got shanghaied going out the door at work.
This has only stopped me from attending, not writing letters. I will continue to send letters until it is no longer required.

Once again, thank you to those who are representing us.

Paul B.