Federal fisheries
director hears salmon concerns
By Joel Gallob Of the News-Times
July 19, 2006
Bill Hogarth, Director of the National
Marine Fisheries Service (also known as National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration [NOAA] Fisheries), came to the Oregon coast on Friday to hear
salmon fishermen talk about the virtual closure of this year's commercial
season, and search for facts to enable a disaster declaration by the U.S.
Commerce Department.
Hogarth met Friday morning with nearly 50 people, more than half salmon
fishers, at the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center. He
was joined by Pacific Fishery Management Council Executive Director Don
McIsaac; Bob Lohn, the Northwest Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries;
and Rod McInnis, the Southwest Regional Administrator.
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who sent Hogarth on the fact finding
trip, "has a real sense of urgency that you may be suffering more than
we realized when we put this regulation in place," Hogarth said.
"It's obvious the impact is even greater than what we thought."
But, he said, the Commerce
Department "has no funds in its budget for disasters, absolutely none.
The only way is if Congress decides to put money in our budget, or some
budget, and then it is distributed through the state," he said.
Gutierrez "says we need facts at hand, not ... projections" to see
if the crisis fits the existing legal definitions for a disaster, Hogarth
explained.
Last week Gutierrez declared a "fisheries interruption" under the
Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act, but the low-interest Small Business
Administration loans made available by the declaration did not interest many
fishermen. However, Kevin Bastein, a member of the Oregon Salmon Commission,
urged Hogarth to "not take them away" because the loans might help
impacted businesses like ice suppliers, if not fishers.
The fisheries interruption declaration, Hogarth said, will make it easier
for Oregon's legislators to convince the rest of Congress to treat the
situation as a real problem. The House of Representatives, he noted, has
passed a "placeholder" appropriation of $2 million, which the
Senate might enlarge.
Hogarth noted that Gutierrez has told the Economic Development
Administration to make aid to salmon fishers a priority. But any monies
won't come until October 1.
The commercial season was not entirely closed; there are several small
openers off the coast of Oregon in the coming months and fishing continues
around the mouth of the Columbia River and a few smaller coastal river
mouths. In June, July and August, each vessel can catch no more than 75
salmon; for September and October the limit is 50 salmon per week. Charter
fishing for salmon and other fish (including halibut, rockfish and tuna)
continues to be available along the entire Oregon coast.
Fishers' views
Fisherman Frank Hangin said of the 16 days open in June, he missed nine due
to bad weather and two more because of "boat problems," giving him
only five days at sea in the truncated month. With one opener left in July,
Hangin said, "I hope the winds are OK." And, he said, with one
three-day opener in August, the regulators have allowed only three days
"in the best weather we have."
Another fisherman said he'd "be lucky to get $5,000, maybe ten percent
of what I normally make."
Fisherman Carl Finley said the weather has "gone against us"
during the open days so far, and very few fishers actually caught their
limit of 75 fish - indicating "how poor the fishing is." Further,
Finley said the small area open to fishing has "squeezed the fleet into
small ports" with a "lot of people up from Coos Bay who'll be real
pressed for fuel."
Another fisher explained, "Boats cost a lot of money even if you're not
using them."
Chris Rampley said it cost $2,000 last year to fix a broken pump, and he had
to put out more than $5,000 this year "for safety equipment everybody
say we've got to have."
Bob Gebhard explained fishers must have warning flares, and the EPIRB (a
warning beacon device) "costs $1,200 a year to maintain."
Then there is the cost of insurance and the cost to haul out a vessel; and
some fishers can't get insurance anymore, one added.
Dean Fleck, manager of the Englund Marine shop in Newport, said it costs at
least $390 to repack the required safety equipment, and this cost can go up
to $1,400. Flares are $300, he said, before listing a few other pieces of
equipment and their costs. "They're going out without these
things," he warned. "This is risking lives."
John King said he lives on his boat and needs to be able to paint and scrape
it, but he estimated the price tag to be at least $1,000. "I'll give my
life for this," he said, "there's people that gotta fish. Give us
safety equipment, let us maintain our boats."
Another fisher noted the "mental depression for people who made a
living 20, 30, 40 years, put their kid through college" and now don't
know what will happen to them.
Another fisher, agreed, saying, "There's going to be divorces,
foreclosures."
Don McIsaacs asked about impacts on businesses like Englund Marine.
Fleck said his business is down 20 percent due to the salmon cutback. But,
Fleck said, "We're diverse enough so we can take the hit and make it
through. But my concern is with the smaller suppliers; the electronics
(suppliers) will really take a hit." And it's not just lost orders, he
explained. All fishing supply houses order supplies months in advance and
they will all be stuck with a lot of inventory they can't move.
Gebhart said people in other industries can get unemployment compensation,
but fishermen can't. And other food producers - farmers - get paid to grow
food and paid not to do so. Fishers get no such price supports, but face a
similarly unstable market.
Don Buruss warned that ice has become "a commodity now" and the
"canneries control the ice. ... I had a hard time getting ice last week
to go fishing. The fish plant said they're saving it for the hake boats. I
had to wait, lost half of Sunday's fishing, and that's when the big bite
happened; some guys got 30 fish. I went out for three days, got 13 fish.
Barely covered fuel and ice."
Onno Husing, director of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association,
said the information NOAA Fisheries needs is available. "The good side
of regulation," Husing said, is the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service have a great deal of data
Hogarth can use to help put together the case for a disaster declaration.
Joel Gallob is a reporter for the News-Times. He can be reached at 265-8571,
ext. 223 or joel.gallob@lee.net
