Commercial salmon fishing ban hurts sport fishing business



Anglers think ban extended to charter firms, too
Good coho season likely
 
June 14, 2006

    WINCHESTER BAY, Ore. (AP) — Sport fishing companies say it’s the salmon fisherman, not the fish, that are hard to come by right now. 

    Oregon charter-boat businesses rely on fishermen to pay for fishing excursions. But the companies say business is tepid because of the misconception that the commercial salmon fishing closure pertains to them too. 

    ‘‘People think that since we're a business, we’re commercial,’’ said Casey Howard, who co-owns and manages Strike Zone Charters in Winchester Bay with her husband, Scott. ‘‘The commercial boys getting closed down really hurt us.’’ 

    Commercial salmon fishing is restricted on 700 miles of coastline from Northern California to Florence because of poor salmon returns on the Klamath River. Sport fisherman are still free to reel them in. 

    Federal regulators did consider closing recreational salmon fishing as well. They later decided to limit commercial fishing only, but charter businesses say the damage was already done. 

    Rick Mason, owner of Salmon Harbor Charters, said he lost 28 reservations for customers this season when regulators were debating limits. He made calls to people who formerly had reservations, but could only lure back 10 of the 28 he had lost.  He said he hopes business will be brisk with the opening of the coho salmon season on Saturday. 

    ‘‘The word is starting to get out that we’ll have an excellent season,’’ Mason said. 

    With limits on the commercial fishing industry, Mason said there is less pressure on salmon and the run should remain plentiful for sport fishing. 

    ‘‘It’s probably going to be the best salmon season we’ve had in 10 years,’’ he said. ‘‘So far, the tills don’t reflect the outlook.’’ 

    Fishing companies said Memorial Day weekend, when tourist season unofficially begins, was uneventful and the fishing community more resembled a ghost town. Some of them are holding out hope that the business will stabilize by Fourth of July, which is the season’s biggest day.
 
 

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