Tag Archives: Oregon
Oregon fishing disaster declared after failure impacting Chinook Salmon
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced Friday that a fishing disaster has been declared following a three-year commercial fishery failure in the state. The declaration comes after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo determined that a commercial fishery failure occurred in 2018, 2019 and 2020 because of a fishery resource disaster impacting Oregon Chinook Salmon Fisheries, the governor said. The determination comes after a request from former Gov. Kate Brown in October 2021. Fisheries with disaster determinations are eligible for funding from fishery disaster appropriations to help with community recovery, fishery restoration and prevention of future disasters. >>click to read<< 17:00
Retired Commercial Fisherman Mark Lee Roberts of Tillamook, Oregon, has passed away
After a long battle with cancer, we lost our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, Mark Lee Roberts. Mark was born in Portland, Oregon in 1952 to Harley and Irene Roberts. Mark grew up in SW Portland and attended St. Clare’s Catholic School and graduated from Central Catholic H.S. in 1970. He started commercial dory fishing with his father out of Pacific City in the Old Soak and Ragtag. He owned several dories including Shark Bait, Fish Assassin and Accomplice before acquiring a larger boat, the Pacific Mistress, which he commercial fished out of Depoe Bay. Mark was also part of the ODFW Marine Reserves Community Team, the Depoe Bay Near Shore Action Team, OSU Wave Energy participant, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission member, and a longtime member of the Pacific City Dorymen’s Association. >>click to read<< 14:49
From the Gulf of Maine to a tin can: A glimpse into high-end tuna production on NH’s coast
“I left today at, like, 12 midnight,” he said, his face hidden behind mirrored sunglasses and a beard. “And then it’s about an hour and a half ride out, and it was beautiful last night because that big fat moon is waning.” Keper Connell is a one-man operation aboard his boat, The Figment. When conditions allow, he cruises into the Gulf of Maine in search of bluefin tuna, a torpedo-shaped fish that can reach more than 1,000 pounds. Rather than sell his bluefin to a wholesaler, where cuts may end up in a fishmonger’s display case, or as toro on a sushi menu, Connell is doing something that nobody else in the U.S. is apparently doing. His fish is put on ice and sent to Oregon, where it will be packed into tin cans with a high end olive oil and some salt. (There are no canneries on the East Coast where an independent fisherman can bring his catch, he says.) Photos, >>click to read<< 11:07
‘They’re not listening’: Fishermen, tribes voice concerns on two Oregon coast sites eyed for offshore wind farms
Last week, the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced two draft Wind Energy Areas off the southern Oregon coast. One of them is offshore of Brookings, near the California border, the other off the coast of Coos Bay. The areas also represent prime fishing grounds and important cultural areas to local Indigenous tribes. Heather Mann, executive director of the Newport-based Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, said it feels like a lot of stakeholders’ concerns are being left unheard. “They’re not listening to coastal communities. They’re not listening to the fishing industry. They’re not listening to congressional representatives,” said Mann, whose organization represents 32 vessels that fish in the area. “Fishermen are not just concerned about being displaced from fishing grounds, though that is a critical piece. ” Video, >click to read< 11:35
Safeguarding Oregon’s Sustainable Seafood Industry: DEQ Urged to Reconsider Unachievable Permits
As proud stewards of the marine ecosystem, Oregon’s seafood industry has worked diligently for over a century to foster a sustainable environment, supporting thriving communities and vibrant coastal economies. However, our seafood industry now faces a critical challenge. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has introduced new wastewater discharge permits that threaten the future of our industry. These permits are overly complicated, technically infeasible, and they fail to consider the seafood processing industry’s unique traits and changing seasons. Even worse, they discourage recycling, hindering full utilization of our fisheries resources. This goes against our industry’s values and DEQ’s own goals of promoting recycling. >click to read< 11:09
NOAA Recommends $106.1 Million in funding for West Coast and Alaska salmon recovery
Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced more than $106 million in recommended funding for 16 West Coast and Alaska state and tribal salmon recovery programs and projects under the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). The funds, including $34.4 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $7.5 million under the Inflation Reduction Act, will support the recovery, conservation and resilience of Pacific salmon and steelhead in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. This funding is part of President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda, which includes over $2 billion for fish passage investments across the country. >click to read< 18:03
Feds ask for public comment on two Oregon Coast sites slated for floating offshore wind farms
Two sites off the southern Oregon coast could soon be home to the state’s first floating offshore wind farms. But first, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will meet with residents and stakeholders in coastal towns, some of whom are concerned about impact to the fishing industry and marine ecosystems. Officials from the ocean energy bureau announced Tuesday that they had identified two ideal “wind energy areas” near Coos Bay and Brookings. The two areas are 20 or more miles from land, collectively encompass about 344 square miles of ocean and could host enough floating wind turbines to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power about 195,000 homes. >click to read< 10:29
Oregon imposes new limits on Dungeness crab fishermen to protect whales
After a lengthy debate, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission voted late on Friday to extend and add on new rules limiting how the state’s Dungeness crab fisherman are allowed to fish, in an effort to protect whales from getting caught in their traps for the next two years. The crustaceans are native to the Pacific Northwest and are one of Oregon’s most profitable products, raking in more than $91 million for the state’s fisherman in the 2021-2022 season. The commission, however, passed a number of regulations in 2020, in response to concerns that migrating whale populations off the coast of Oregon were getting caught in ropes and traps known as crab pots set up by crab fishers and becoming injured or exhausted to the point that they could drown. >click to read< 09:44
Oregon crabbers and environmentalists are at odds as a commission votes on rules to protect whales
In the wheelhouse of a crab boat named Heidi Sue, Mike Pettis watched the gray whale surface and shoot water through its blowhole. Tangled around its tail was a polypropylene rope used to pull up crab traps. That was in 2004, off the waters of Waldport, Oregon. Pettis, a crab fisherman, said it’s the only time in his 44 years of fishing he has ever seen a whale caught in crab lines, and he believes that is proof such encounters are “extremely rare.” The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to vote Friday on whether to permanently set stricter rules and pot limits put in place in 2020 to protect whales. The restrictions, which were originally supposed to end after this season, would reduce the number of traps, known as pots, and how deep they can drop in the spring and summer months when humpbacks are more likely to encounter them. >click to read< 09:01
Federal fisheries service agrees to deal aimed at curbing whale entanglements in fishing gear
A legal agreement finalized Tuesday over the protection of humpback whales is expected to help the threatened animals thrive while maintaining the ocean’s health. The deal stricken between the National Marine Fisheries Service and Center for Biological Diversity will create a team to reduce the number of whales that get tangled in a West Coast federal fishery. The service will form the team by Oct. 31, 2025, a press release stated. A federal court in March sided with the center after it filed suit last year against the fisheries service. The center argued the service failed to protect Pacific humpback whales from getting entangled in sablefish pot gear off the California, Oregon and Washington coasts. >click to read< 09:33
Hoyle Introduces Supporting Commercial Fishing Act
A release from Hoyle’s office said current law does not make it explicitly clear whether ports can apply for Port Infrastructure Development Program grants that support commercial fishing. Hoyle said that often leaves it up for interpretation that can overlook commercial fishing communities which are the backbone of the coastal communities. The release said Hoyle’s legislation would clarify that ports may apply for federal funding through the Maritime Administration’s PIDP for port infrastructure projects which support commercial fishing and all the jobs that comes with it. >click to read< 12:32
Commercial Fisherman Michael R. Price of Newport, Oregon, has passed away
Michael “Mikey Who” (as he was known to many) was born on February 25, 1955, in Coos Bay, Oregon to Roy L. Price and Jeanette G. (Bunker) Price. He graduated as an Honor Student from Pacific High School in 1973. That fall he enrolled in SOC at Ashland, Oregon. He attended SOC for 2 years then left to become a full-time commercial fisherman and he never looked back. His first boat was named the Abiquay. He fished for salmon and bottom fish at that time. He and his faithful dog, Quila, became well known on the Oregon and Northern California coast as fine fishermen. They made friends everywhere they traveled. >click to read< 12:08
Kotek calls for pause on offshore wind turbines
Gov. Tina Kotek is joining a chorus of voices, including tribes and commercial fishermen, urging the Biden administration to slow down its push for floating wind farms in the Pacific Ocean off the state’s southern coast. Regulators are now preparing a draft report outlining where in the areas turbines may be built safely while minimizing harm to fisheries and marine life. Members of the West Coast fishing industry, however, claim that the bureau is ignoring their concerns. They worry that floating offshore wind farms will displace boats from highly productive fishing grounds and could irreversibly damage the California Current ecosystem. >click to read< 09:20
Army Vet/Commercial Fisherman Dale F Baines “Whaler” of Brookings, Oregon, has passed away
Dale was born on May 18, 1952, in Sacramento, CA to Vern and Marie (Barclay) Baines. At the age of 13 his mother and stepfather Leland Holmes moved the family to Gold Beach. Dale attended and graduated from Gold Beach High School in 1971. Soon after graduation he was drafted into the Army. Dale loved to fish from a young age. It was not surprising he became a commercial fisherman and in 1976 he bought his first F/V the TAKU a small salmon trawler which he fell overboard while fishing by himself off Eureka CA. Thankfully the Lord was not ready for him and saved him so that he could marry Mindy Payne on September 26, 1987. Dale spent many years working on others boats, until 2003 when he and his wife purchased the F/V Innisfree. >click to read< 13:04
New Regulations: Commercial troll salmon season
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), the State of Oregon, the State of Washington, and fishery representatives met today via conference call and have taken the following in-season management action related to the commercial troll salmon season from the US/Canada border to Cape Falcon: Action taken,Modified the landing limit and possession limit in the area between the Queets River and Leadbetter Point from 150 to 200 Chinook per vessel per landing week (Thursday-Wednesday) from May 25 to June 21, and for the period of June 22-29 (Note that this is also the weekly maximum for all open areas combined). more, >click to read< 13:38
Blessing of the Fleet honors those in local fishing industry
The annual Blessing of the Fleet and Memorial Service will be held at the Charleston Fisherman’s Memorial Garden on Memorial Day. The service honors the local men and women involved in commercial fishing and the fishing industry who have lost their lives since 1941. This year they will be honoring fishermen Stan Main and Chauncey Woodworth, and fishing industry professionals Kevin Roy Cameron and Fernando Sandez. The 1954 Buoy Bell will be rung as each name is read, which is significant because fishermen rely on this sound to aid in safe navigation. The Fisherman’s Memorial Committee members said everyone in the community is invited to participate in the event. “It’s a matter of showing appreciation to the fisherman and to honor them, and it’s a nice event that shows patriotism,” Whitmer said. photos, >click to read< 11:26
Old lumber port preps for new life as California offshore wind hub
Eureka’s halcyon days as the “timber capital” of California are long gone, but the deepwater port city 270 miles north of San Francisco may see its fortunes turn as the hub of the state’s first foray in offshore wind energy. Eureka sits across two of the five swaths of Pacific Ocean along the California coast that the federal government auctioned off to offshore wind developers this past December for a total of $757 million. The three other leases are on the Central Coast across from Morro Bay. Humboldt Bay, the second-largest bay in California after the San Francisco Bay, is ideally suited to become the final assembly port for the massive turbines. >click to read< 15:43
Alaska trollers will feel pain and unnecessary hardship from ruling on orca lawsuit
As president of Seafood Producers Cooperative, representing nearly 400 fishermen-owners, who reside in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, I want to convey our great disappointment and frustration with the recent ruling concerning the Wild Fish Conservancy and their lawsuit directed at our Salmon Troll fleet. The WFC found a technicality in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s biological opinion for troll-caught king salmon. No other fishing gear groups are being attacked and other commercial and sports fishermen in the region – and in the Puget Sound – will continue to harvest king salmon. >click to read< 08:59
Commercial Fisherman Lloyd D. Whaley of Brookings, Oregon has passed away
Lloyd D. Whaley was born April 30th, 1943, and passed away peacefully on Saturday morning April 29th, 2023. He juggled working nights at the lumber mill while pursuing his eventual career during the daytime: commercial fishing. The long hours and lack of sleep eventually paid off when he was able to buy his first salmon trawler, the Marilyn A. Some years later, he sold the Marilyn A and bought a slightly larger trawler, the Kristy. Unfortunately, the risk of fishing caught up with him and the Kristy sank. Instead of becoming discouraged, he remained devoted to commercial fishing and built a boat that could handle harsher weather conditions and diversify into other fisheries such as crab, shrimp, and bottom trawl, the Cape Sebastian. From there he grew to a second vessel, a 90-foot gulf shrimper the BJ Thomas (later sold to his granddaughter Sarah and husband Justin). Finally, in 1987 in a partnership with his son, they built a combination trawler crabber in Alabama and named it the Miss Sarah after his granddaughter. Additionally, Lloyd gave 20 years of service to the Port of Brookings Harbor as a commissioner. >click to read< 11:54
F/V Mary B II: Coast Guard owes the public answers
It has been more than four years since the deadly capsizing of the crabbing vessel FV Mary B II while it attempted to cross the Yaquina River bar inbound in stormy weather, killing the skipper and two crew members as Coast Guard vessels were nearby. The captain had previously operated off New Jersey and wasn’t familiar with Pacific Coast conditions. At the time of the hearings, the lead Coast Guard officer said a report was expected before May 2020. However, almost four years have now elapsed since the hearing and the Coast Guard has not released its final investigation report publicly. >click to read< 11:42
Battle over endangered fish has led Oregon to cull sea lions
While sea lion populations in the Pacific Northwest have soared in recent decades, salmon and steelhead numbers have not. And sea lions’ voracious appetite for salmon is the issue at hand. Many of the fish that sea lions eat are among 13 threatened and endangered runs protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. And groups of sea lions have taken to simply waiting at the Bonneville Dam, Willamette Falls and other pinch points where the fish gather as they struggle to make their way upriver to spawn. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates that sea lions eat up to 44% of the Columbia River spring Chinook run and 25% of the Willamette winter steelhead run each year. Video, >click to read< 09:11
F/V Mary B II: Why Coast Guard sluggishness?
It has been more than four years since the deadly capsizing of the crabbing vessel F/V Mary B II while attempting to cross the Yaquina Bay bar inbound in stormy weather on Jan. 8, 2019, killing the skipper and two crew members as Coast Guard vessels were nearby. A Coast Guard Marine Casualty Investigation board convened in Newport, May 13-17, 2019, and soon revealed the captain had alcohol and methamphetamine in his system and one crew member had cannabinoids. The captain had previously operated off New Jersey and wasn’t very familiar with Pacific Coast conditions. >click to read< 13:03 Search Results for F/V MARY B II
California could have avoided salmon season shutdown. Did we learn nothing last time? by Sarah Bates
I fish salmon commercially from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge from my boat, where Chinook have passed for millions of years on their journey from the ocean, through the bay and Delta, up the Sacramento River. There is communal anticipation before the first trip of the summer, checking anchor winches and hydraulic hoses, safety equipment, leaders, weather reports. Boats are freshly painted and deck tanks for holding fish are installed. Not this year – this year feels like a funeral. >click to read< by Sarah Bates 09:52
Pacific Fishery Management Council approves salmon fishing ban for much of West Coast
A federal regulatory group voted Thursday to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish, also known as chinook, returned to California’s rivers last year. The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the closure of the 2023 season for all commercial and most recreational chinook fishing along the coast from Cape Falcon in northern Oregon to the California-Mexico border. Limited recreational salmon fishing will be allowed off southern Oregon in the fall. Biologists say the chinook salmon population has declined dramatically after years of drought. Though the closure will affect tens of thousands of jobs, few are opposed to it. Many fishers say they want to take action now to guarantee healthy stocks in the future. >click to read< 09:03
Oregon Fishing Industry Fed Up With Agency ‘Ignoring’ Their Offshore Wind Concerns
The West Coast Seafood Processors Association, the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission claim their concerns about proposed offshore wind project call areas, areas where the agency is seeking public comment, and their impact on key fish populations due to the turbines’ electromagnetic field (EMF) cables, have been ignored by BOEM. They also worry about the impact offshore winds would have on their businesses and the entire state’s economy. “BOEM has told us that if Oregon doesn’t want this, they will back off and pursue other offshore wind areas, and we’ve made it pretty clear to them that Oregon doesn’t want this, and they’re still pushing forward,” Lori Steele, executive director of the seafood trade group West Coast Seafood Processors Association, told the DCNF. “They are giving us nothing but lip service,” she added. >click to read< 09:43
Vancouver Island military search and rescue crews train with U.S. Coast Guard
Crews from 19 Wing Comox are back on the ground after attending a week of specialized training in the United States, learning special techniques to get in and out of extreme ocean waves. “It was awesome to be able to train in a more realistic environment, out of our normal rules,” said Master-Cpl. Carl Mozienko of Comox’s 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron. Three pilots, two flight engineers and three search and rescue technicians, spent five days training with members of the U.S. Coast Guard down in Astoria, Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River. The location was chosen because of its rough seas, according to Brad Pigage, a chief aviation survival technician for the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School. Photos, >click to read< 12:47
Imperiled Chinook salmon runs close ocean fishing off California, much of Oregon
The closure currently runs through May 15 and affects a length of the coast stretching from Oregon’s Cape Falcon, near Cannon Beach, south to the Mexican border. And it could be extended, officials said, as the imperiled species struggles amid a long-running drought. Further closures are likely, said Eric Schindler, head of the Oregon Department of Wildlife’s Ocean Salmon Program.“It doesn’t look good for this year or next year, and possibly the year after that, because of the drought conditions in California,” Schindler said. “We have to make sure that we’re not undermining our ability to produce salmon for the next go around.” Video, >click to read< 10:35