Coos Bay World: Season of suffering

CHARLESTON - “I understand your frustration,” National Marine Fisheries Service Director Bill Hogarth said Friday when talking with local salmon trollers at the Charleston RV Park.

It wasn't exactly what local fishermen wanted to hear, but Hogarth was patient and took notes on specific information about the current commercial salmon season in Oregon.

Fishermen hoping to deliver wild Chinooks to market this year found out in early March they couldn't fish the season that was scheduled to start March 15. Then, in April, they discovered they wouldn't be allowed to fish the main season during the summer. The closure on the South Coast and restricted season on the North Coast was all in an effort to boost returns of Klamath River wild Chinook.

Hogarth said he needed facts, not just anecdotal information, to support a federal government's decision to declare the fishery a failure under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. A failure decision could turn the tide in whether and how much money lawmakers can appropriate for the fishing industry.

Fishermen and business managers obliged, citing figure after figure about why the season should be declared a failure:

- Charleston troller Jeff Reeves said that in 2005, during a season that was closed in June, July and August, he made 35 percent of what he made in 2004. This year, his income from salmon is zero.

- Charleston Ice owner Pat Houck, who had to close his ice plant recently, said he lost at least 50 percent of his business when the trawl groundfish buyout went into effect. He lost more when the salmon season closed.

- Troller Rick Goche said vessel insurance costs about $6,000 a year. Several vessels can't afford to carry insurance and still others are older boats that some companies won't cover.

- Shawn Ryan, who fishes in both Oregon and California, gave a rundown of some of the fixed costs for salmon vessels. Hauling a boat out for maintenance costs between $2,000 and $10,000. Insurance costs about $5,000 or $6,000. Re-packing a liferaft costs about $1,000. Fixed costs typically run about 35 percent of a fisherman's gross income, but fuel is a wildcard. “I had a $22,000 fuel bill in 2005,” Ryan said.

- Skallerud Marine owner Brian Skallerud, one of the last people on the South Coast who still does wooden boat repairs, had between six and 10 people working for him in Charleston. Now he has two.

- Mark Fleck, manager of Englund Marine Supply in Charleston, said the company has diversified to include more recreational and outdoor supply sales, but salmon equipment for commercial fishing still is a key component. He estimated the Charleston store has lost about 20 percent of its sales due to the salmon season closure.

- The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay operates as a special taxing district and receives about 30 percent of its operating budget from taxes, said Deputy Executive Director Mike Gaul. The other 70 percent comes from operations, such as moorage. “When (fishermen) can't pay their moorage, we can't put money back into this facility,” Gaul said.

Facts also are available from the state agencies that monitor the fishing seasons, such as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hogarth met with ODFW officials on Thursday.

As of June 18, cumulative fishing deliveries for the areas around Tillamook, Newport and Coos Bay were down by several thousand fish over the last two years, according to preliminary ODFW reports on the Internet.

Through the same week in 2004, for example, 3,113 Chinook were delivered to Coos Bay; 3,255 salmon to Newport and 523 to Tillamook. In 2005, during a season that was closed in Coos Bay for the months of June, July and August, there were 2,868 fish landed in Coos Bay; 2,727 in Newport and 1,258 in Tillamook.

This year, the numbers are much, much lower. Eight salmon have been delivered to Coos Bay area (which includes Winchester Bay), 684 to the Newport area - about a quarter of what was landed last year - and only 155 to the Tillamook area.

Fact-finding mission

Hogarth was sent to the West Coast after Oregon and California lawmakers pressured U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez to take a closer look at the salmon season issue.

Gutierrez did declare the season a resource disaster under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act, but requested additional details to declare it a failure under the Magnuson-Stevens Management Act.

Currently, fishermen and associated businesses are eligible for Small Business Administration loans (see sidebar). Many are hesitant to incur more debt - even with low interest rates - without knowing for sure that there may be a salmon season next year.

But, Hogarth said, even if a fisherman doesn't want to take advantage of it, perhaps a supporting business or agency might. That would help keep the infrastructure in place, he said.

Fishermen have been requesting direct payments for months and so far, no federal help has been routed to the West Coast. Earlier this week, however, Oregon Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden added $10 million to a federal budget bill that would provide direct aid to Oregon and California fishermen. That bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee this week, but the money wouldn't be available until this fall.

Forget the numbers

Despite the request for specific information, fishermen said the whole story about the plight of the industry can't be told with numbers alone.

Troller Paul Merz said one of the main concerns is the potential market loss to farmed salmon. It took years of selling fish at very low prices to get those markets back - a situation trollers may face again when the seasons re-open in the future.

“This disaster is ongoing,” Merz said.

Fisherman Thad Potter noted that disaster doesn't just affect salmon, but other fisheries. Often, fishermen depend on one season to carry them through the next, such as using income from salmon to get the boat ready to fish for Dungeness crab in the winter.

Still others intended to use salmon fishing - a fishery that's less intensive physically - as their retirement account.

Bandon troller Scott Cook said the average age of a salmon troller is 52.

“My 401(k) plan has been stolen,” said Charleston fisherman Rayburn “Punch” Guerin.

Several fishermen also told of problems with infrastructure, such as ice plants, that seem to be disappearing. It's not just a salmon problem, they said, it's a fishing industry problem.

Coos Bay Trawlers Association Executive Director Steve Bodnar said the trawl industry went through a similar situation more than six years ago.

“And we're not out from under that yet,” Bodnar said. Federal government in town to gather data on plight of fishermen