SAMOA -- In the face of a challenging future for North Coast commercial fishing, Ronnie Pellegrini is not completely pessimistic.
Pellegrini, wife of longtime Eureka fisherman Paul Pellegrini, told members of the Humboldt Taxpayers' League on Wednesday that she expects the fleet to continue to shrink over the next decade with stricter regulations and industry troubles.
”There will not likely be a next generation of commercial fishermen,” said Pellegrini, who is also a harbor commissioner.
This past year, Paul Pellegrini fished two of the five days open for salmon out of Fort Bragg, hooking about 500 pounds of fish. Despite high prices, it didn't make up for the limited number of fish. Last summer's albacore tuna fishery brought in plenty of tuna, but prices dropped with a flood of fish brought in on the Atlantic. The winter Dungeness crab season proved less than ideal.
Her family, Pellegrini said, has been able to pay its bills and not rely on credit. But others she knows are in bad shape.
There have been tough times before, and they took their toll on the industry. In the 1970s, new legislation banned foreign boats from fishing within 200 miles of the U.S. shore. The federal government provided low- and no-interest loans for American fishermen to build new, more efficient boats to target the deep-water species the foreign fleet had been catching.
”The problem is the industry got really good at catching fish,” Pellegrini said.
But the surge in effort and efficiency depleted slow-maturing fish stocks, and prices also plummeted. Regulations tightened, and foreclosures on fishing boats became common. A means of regulating -- for example, hook-and-line-caught black cod -- effectively made fishing untenable for many.
Several years ago, a federal boat buyout aimed to reduce the trawl fleet so the remaining available fish could be spread among fewer boats. But Pellegrini said the buyback didn't prevent fishermen from buying new boats with the money they were paid for selling their old boats. That meant those fishermen were able to crowd into other fisheries.
While the problems continue, there are opportunities for the future of fishing in the area, Pellegrini said.
A number of sustainable seafood stocks are available, including salmon, crab, albacore and oysters. Humboldt Bay also has fish processing facilities, an enterprise zone, potential for niche products like fresh-canned gourmet albacore, and a supportive community.
And while the business of fishing is tough, there is ongoing demand for seafood. Many of the larger supermarket chains bring in fish from all over the world, but Pellegrini said people really want to buy local fish. It's possible that those demands will float the fleet in years to come.
”It is a long and proud tradition and one I would like to see continue,” Pellegrini said.
John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.
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