This year’s final salmon fishery management plan has shortened the overall length of the fishing season, closed almost half of the Oregon coast salmon fishery and reduced the permitted harvest amounts per boat for the two most common types of commercial salmon.
The decision will put an economic strain on the coastal communities that depend on salmon fishing for their livelihoods, but it is less severe than the originally proposed complete shut-down.
Governor Ted Kulongoski declared a state of emergency for coastal communities April 24, and announced plans to create a page on his Web site for those communities with links to services from state agencies, according to a press release, but the page hasn’t been set up yet.
Limited salmon fishing along the Oregon coast was approved April 28 by the two agencies in charge of maintaining fisheries. The emergency ruling allowed the salmon fishery to open May 1 as scheduled, but reduced the legal salmon catch per boat to between 50 and 75 depending on the day and type of salmon.
Flags went up in April when scientists at The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted about 25,000 Chinook would return to spawn on the Klamath River this year, 10,000 less than the minimum required by The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s management plan to open the salmon fishery for the season.
In an effort to protect the dwindling number of Chinook salmon returning to spawn on the Klamath River, the Pacific Council and NOAA recommended closing almost all of the commercial salmon season. The council later determined that a temporary level of 21,000 could be set this year without compromising the long-term health of the salmon fishery.
Oregon Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden introduced a Senate bill in May requesting federal emergency disaster assistance to help offset the economic stress of a reduced fishing season.
Some affected fishers may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance, temporary assistance to people who are jobless through no fault of their own. Each state has different guidelines for qualifying and applying, and the benefits are meant to soften the impact of job loss on communities.
If President Bush declares Oregon’s salmon fishing season a disaster, residents in affected coastal communities could qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, benefits through the federal government for people left jobless as a result of a disaster.
NOAA considers it a victory that it was able to allow some fishing this year, said spokesman Jeff Donald.
“Under the salmon management plan, not reaching the 35,000 level triggered a total shut-down,” Donald said. “We were pleased we could get together with all parties to allow some fishing.
“It’s a way of life for people,” Donald said, “and that was important to us.”
Even though Chinook share the same water with several other species that have growing populations, large areas of the fishery had to be closed in order to protect the low numbers of returning Chinook, Donald said.
Over the past two years, ocean conditions haven’t been favorable to plankton production, a main food source for salmon. Chinook returning this year to spawn aren’t as large or strong as previous generations because of the poor food production, said William Peterson, who works at NOAA’s northwest center.
Commercial harvests of Chinook averaged 700,000 annually since 2000, according to a NOAA press release.
The price per pound of Chinook rose 77 cents between 2000 and 2004, a 47 percent increase. The amount in pounds of Chinook caught in 2004 reflected a 144 percent increase over the amount caught in 2000.
The price per pound of Coho salmon rose 63 percent over the same five years. However, the amount of pounds of Coho caught during that time declined 17 percent.