By Al Thomas
The Columbian
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday adopted its version of the controversial Columbia River salmon management reforms, opting for a plan more friendly to commercial fishing than its Washington counterpart.
Oregon’s decision raises the potential for the two states having different sport and commercial seasons in the lower Columbia in 2017, possibly ending 99 years of concurrent fishing regulations.
“We don’t have all the answers what non-concurrent regulations would look like,” Curt Melcher, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, told his seven-member commission.
Reforms adopted by both states in early 2013 allocated more chinook salmon to sportsmen in the main Columbia and restricted gillnetting to off-channel sites like Youngs Bay and Tongue Point near Astoria.
The reforms also called for commercial fishing that remained in the main Columbia to be done with live-capture methods — such as purse seines and beach seines — designed to harvest hatchery stocks and release wild fish.
However, testing of beach and purse seines in the main Columbia found much higher mortality rates of released fish than anticipated four years ago and efforts to develop more off-channel fishing sites for the commercials have had mixed results.
“Washington did a horrible thing,” said Bruce Buckmaster, an Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission member from Astoria. “We have to follow our conscience.”
Here is a look by the three chinook stocks at the differences between the plans approved by the two commissions:
Spring chinook — Both states allocated spring chinook 80 percent for sportsmen and 20 percent for the commercials. However, Washington’s policy does not permit Oregon’s decision to allow the commercials to fish in mid-May with tangle nets, depending on the size of the upper Columbia run and salmon availability factoring in the off-channel fisheries.
Summer chinook — Both states allocated 80 percent to sportsmen and 20 percent to commercials. While Washington gave the commercials a 20 percent share, there is no gear available currently that would qualify to allow a fishery, although eventually a method might be developed.
Oregon wants to allow the commercials to use three-quarters of their share in a summer gillnet fishery.
Fall chinook — Washington allocated 75 percent of the fall chinook to sportsmen and 25 percent to the commercials. Washington allows gillnetting to continue in 2017 and 2018 between Woodland and Beacon Rock. In 2019, gillnets are banned and allocation shifts to 80 percent for sportsmen.
Oregon decided Friday to split fall chinook 66 percent for sportsmen and 34 percent for the commercials, with tangle nets (small-mesh gillnets) allowed downstream of Woodland for coho and large-mesh gillnets allowed between Woodland and Beacon Rock.
Ed Bowles, fish division administrator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said a potential solution to the different fall allocations might be to allow the sportsmen to get 66 percent, the commercials 25 percent, and have 9 percent unallocated and go to spawning escapement.
But the differences in commercial gear allowed is a much thornier issue, Bowles said.
There is no precedent how to allocate salmon between the two states. Seasons could have different dates or durations.
Bowles said in summer there could be a situation where Oregon gillnet permit holders could fish in Oregon waters only.
“There’s no background how to do allocation or enforcement by state,” said Chris Kern, a deputy fish division administrator.
Melcher said there is a “high probability” of some non-concurrent rules in 2017.
“If you tell me what to do I’ll go down that path,” Melcher told his commission. “I will do what you direct.”
Buckmaster said Washington’s director, Jim Unsworth, does not appear as involved in the Columbia River salmon issue as Melcher and questioned with whom specifically Melcher would negotiate.
Oregon’s vote was 4-3 in favor of the plan adopted. Buckmaster said before any final deal is reached with Washington that Melcher should bring the details back to the Oregon commission.
Spring chinook fishing does not ramp up until March, leaving the states more than a month to attempt to resolve their difference. The Columbia River Compact is scheduled to meet in late February to set spring seasons.
Buckmaster called Washington’s version of the reforms “tantamount to a death sentence” for the commercial industry on the Columbia River.
