ODFW Archives - Saving Seafood

CARES Act draft spend plan for Oregon available for review

August 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:

ODFW has posted a draft of the proposed spend plan for the second round of Oregon distribution of federal CARES Act fisheries relief funding at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CARES/index.asp.

Marine and coastal fishery businesses who have experienced economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to review the draft and provide input.

About $13 million is available for Oregon’s marine and coastal fishery sectors experiencing significant economic impacts from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The relief aid slated for Oregon is part of $255 million in fisheries assistance funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). ODFW is the lead State agency working with fishery participants to coordinate aid.

The spend plan details how the distribution of these relief funds will be conducted in Oregon. The plan builds upon successful aspects of round one funding completed in January 2021, with adjustments to address identified gaps.

The plan must be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Once approved, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission will manage the application process and distribute funds.

Comments on the plan should be sent to ODFW.CARESACT@odfw.oregon.gov. Comments received by Sunday, Aug. 22 will be reviewed and considered during finalization of the spend plan.

“We want to provide one more opportunity for Oregon businesses to comment on the draft plan before we submit a final version, and also realize that some may have missed our June public meeting,” said Chris Kern, ODFW Deputy Fish Division Administrator.

A recording and materials from the June 2021 online meeting are available one the ODFW CARES Act web page.

Oregon Bill Aims to Fund Actions Supporting Fisheries, Communities in face of Changing Ocean

July 20, 2021 — Oregon is taking healthy oceans seriously. The state legislature passed House Bill 3114 in what proponents call a historic Oregon first in the fight against ocean acidification and hypoxia. It will help retain the successful sport and commercial fisheries on which coastal economies depend, proponents say.

It also shows Oregon leaders’ awareness of the importance of healthy oceans, according to a press release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oregon is an epicenter for acidification and hypoxia and was one of the first places in the world to observe direct impacts of ocean change when oyster hatchery production collapsed in 2007 from ocean acidification.

Read the full story at Seafood News

OREGON: ODFW seeks nominees for Pacific fisheries council

January 21, 2021 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting nominations for a seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The deadline to request nomination materials is Feb. 19, and the three-year term begins Aug. 11.

The council manages fisheries for approximately 119 species of salmon, groundfish, coastal pelagic species (sardines, anchovies and mackerel) and highly migratory species (tunas, sharks and swordfish) off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California. It includes 14 voting members representing tribal and state fish and wildlife agencies, and private citizens knowledgeable about sport fishing, commercial fishing and/or marine conservation.

The ideal candidate would be knowledgeable about fishery resource conservation and management in marine waters off the West Coast. Specific knowledge of and experience in management issues and fisheries is important, as is a strong conservation ethic. The successful candidate also must work collectively with other council members, often making difficult decisions, to fulfill the standards set forth by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Members make a substantial time commitment to fully participate in council business and related activities.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times

Pacific Council Finalizes Generally Improved Salmon Seasons for 2019

April 17, 2019 — Most salmon trollers can expect better ocean salmon seasons this year — while also meeting conservation goals, fishery managers said Monday.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council finalized its recommendations for 2019 salmon seasons at its meeting in Rohnert Park, Calif., for seasons beginning in May.

The seasons must still be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, but managers said that is expected.

The adopted regulations for Chinook salmon reflect the improved status of Sacramento River fall Chinook, Oregon managers said in a notice to industry. Rogue River fall Chinook and Klamath River fall Chinook populations both are in good and fair condition, respectively, they added.

Also, most of the north migrating stocks of Chinook (Oregon Coastal Chinook stocks from the Nehalem River south to the Elk River as well as a number of Columbia River Chinook stocks) are in moderate to poor condition. These north migrating stocks of Chinook contribute very little to Oregon’s ocean seasons but are very important to Oregon’s inside estuary and river recreational seasons.

The commercial ocean troll salmon seasons north of Cape Falcon will have very limited Chinook salmon quotas again this year. The ocean fishery will be managed by quotas, season length, and vessel landing week (Thursday-Wednesday) limits. The early Chinook salmon-only season will start on May 6. The season will continue until the overall quota of 13,200 Chinook or the Leadbetter Pt., Washington, to Cape Falcon (in northern Oregon) subarea cap of 1,800 Chinook is taken, or June 28, whichever comes first. Fishermen will be limited to 100 Chinook per vessel for the period of May 6-15 and then shift to a 50 Chinook per vessel per landing week (Thursday-Wednesday), beginning May 16.

The summer all-salmon fishery north of Cape Falcon will open on July 1 and continue through the earlier of the overall Chinook quota of 13,050 Chinook or 30,400 fin clipped coho, managers said in the notice to fishermen. Trollers will also be limited to 150 adipose fin-clipped coho during the landing week (Thurs-Wed) per vessel.

This year’s fisheries were designed to take advantage of a higher number of coho salmon forecast to return to Washington’s waters as compared to recent years, Kyle Adicks, salmon policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a press release. However, projected low returns of key Chinook stocks in Puget Sound prompted fishery managers to restrict fisheries there.

“We’re able to provide more opportunities to fish for coho in some areas, particularly in the ocean and Columbia River, than we have been able to do for several years,” Adicks said. Coho fisheries generally benefit sport fishermen but can constrain commercial fishermen targeting Chinook if coho is taken incidentally. “But continued poor returns of some Chinook stocks forced us to make difficult decisions for fisheries in Puget Sound this year.”

Again in 2019, fishery managers projected another low return of Stillaguamish, Nooksack and mid-Hood Canal Chinook and took steps to protect those stocks.

WDFW Director Kelly Susewind acknowledged the reductions in Puget Sound salmon fisheries are difficult for both fishermen, primarily sport fishermen, and the local communities that depend on those fisheries.

“Reducing fisheries is not a long-term solution to the declining number of Chinook salmon,” Susewind said. “The department will continue working with the co-managers, our constituents, and others to address habitat loss. Without improved habitat, our chinook populations will likely continue to decline.”

Limiting fisheries to meet conservation objectives for wild salmon indirectly benefits southern resident killer whales. The fishery adjustments will aid in minimizing boat presence and noise, and decrease competition for Chinook and other salmon in these areas critical to the declining whales, WDFW said in a press release.

In the rest of Oregon, from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mountain near Port Orford in southern Oregon, the Chinook salmon season will be open April 20-30, May 6-30, June 1-Aug. 29, and Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. Beginning Sept. 1, a 75 Chinook salmon per vessel weekly limit (Thursday through Wednesday) will be in place.

From Humbug Mt. to the Oregon/California border, the commercial troll fishery will be open April 20-30 and May 6-30. Beginning June 1, landing week (Thurs-Wed) limits of 50 Chinook per vessel will go into effect along with monthly quotas of 3,200 Chinook in June; 2,500 in July; and 1,200 in August (8/1-29).

“I really appreciate everybody’s work this week,” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Division Deputy Administrator Chris Kern said on the Council floor. “[It was] a lot of hard work, but I feel pretty good about where we landed.”

Similarly, California trollers should expect more time on the water this year.

Brett Kormos, with the Marine Region of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, noted the two primary rivers, Sacramento and Klamath River, that contribute fall Chinook to ocean salmon fisheries are still in a rebuilding phase or overfished status. Still, “we are also looking at increased harvest opportunities in both commercial and recreational sectors in 2019 compared to 2018,” Kormos said.

Fishery managers modeled the seasons and limits to allow for a Sacramento River fall Chinook spawning escapement of 160,129 hatchery and natural area adults.

This story has been republished here with the permission of SeafoodNews.com.

Biologists: Killing hungry sea lions saving imperiled fish

April 5, 2019 — A plan to kill California sea lions to save an endangered run of fish on a river that cuts through Portland, Oregon, appears to be working just months after wildlife officials began euthanizing the giant marine mammals, biologists said Thursday.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife began killing the sea lions in January after getting permission from federal authorities late last year. They have killed 16 so far, including three on Wednesday, said department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy.

In the same period, 2,400 steelhead fish have reached the upper Willamette River and its tributaries to spawn this spring — the most in three years and double last year’s tally, the agency said.

Less than 30 years ago, the number of steelhead making that journey was at least 15,000 a year but pollution and the construction of dams on key rivers reduced that number dramatically.

Sea lions have been eating an additional 25% of all returning steelhead at that spot in the Willamette River south of Portland, said Shaun Clements, ODFW’s senior policy analyst.

“We’ve definitely been able to reduce predation this year and provide some relief to the fish,” he said. “We’re saving considerable numbers of them.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

Oregon sets Feb. 1 as re-opening date for commercial crabbing

January 28, 2019 — The Department of Fish and Wildlife in the US state of Oregon (ODFW) on Thursday announced that it would allow the commercial Dungeness crab season to begin on the coast from Cape Arago to the California border on Feb. 1.

State officials closed the area in October due to concerns about a high level of the marine biotoxin domoic acid, which can cause minor to severe illness and even death in humans. ODFW said it took samples from the southern portion of the area and found levels of the toxin elevated in the viscera (guts) of the crab. As a result, all crab harvested from south of Cape Blanco along the west coast will be required to have their viscera removed by a licensed processor prior to sale.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Pots dropped: Oregon Dungeness season is in full swing

January 9, 2019 — The Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee, which oversees the northern California, Oregon and Washington Dungeness crab fisheries, opened the season between Cape Arago, Ore., and Klipsan Beach, Wash., after a month-long delay. At 8 a.m. on January 1, 73 hours before the opening, Dungeness crab pots finally splashed into the water off the coast of Oregon and southern Washington.

“They can start to pull pots at 9 a.m. on Jan. 4,” says Troy Buell, the fisheries management program leader at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “But I don’t know about the weather.”

On Jan. 3, Newport, Ore., crab fisherman Mike Retherford headed out. “We’re leaving now because the bar is going to be pretty bad by morning,” he says. “The swell is building.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Lethal force approved for sea lion at Willamette Falls

November 16, 2018 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s plan to remove problem California sea lions from the Willamette River Falls using lethal force has been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The sea lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection act, but the federal agency approved the plan because the pinnipeds have put runs of salmon and steelhead in the river in jeopardy of extinction.

ODFW filed the application because analyses showed that high levels of predation by sea lions (25 percent of the steelhead run in 2017) meant there was an almost 90 percent probability that one of the upper Willamette steelhead runs could go extinct.

Read the full story at The Colombian

Strong Management Safeguards Oregon’s Valuable Dungeness Crab Fishery

January 25, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Oregon’s most valuable commercial fishery for the state’s official crustacean, Dungeness crab, got underway north of Cape Blanco this week. While storms and price negotiations kept fishermen docked for awhile after the official opening, processors are expecting large deliveries soon.

A major reason Dungeness crab deliveries are large and that it’s the state’s official crustacean is due to successful management.

Dungeness crab have been harvested commercially along the Pacific Coast since the late 1800s. Current regulations allow only male crabs larger than 6 ¼ inches across the back of the shell to be taken. This protects the female and undersized male crabs that constitute the breeding population and produce the next generation of crab to be harvested in about four years, ensuring the sustainability of the overall stock and the industry.

This regulatory approach is working, according to an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife press release. Preliminary results from a NOAA study show the population of legal-size males appears to be stable to increasing on the West Coast. Harvest rates are also stable to increasing. Last season’s ex-vessel value set a record of $62.7 million, with landings totaling 20 million pounds, 22 percent above the 10-year average, the statement said.

Washington and California have similar management structures.

State natural resource agencies in Oregon, Washington and California cooperate as part of what’s known as the Tri-State Agreement. They jointly set a season opening date for the area from Point Arena, Calif. to Grays Harbor, Wash., or divide it into two areas with different opening dates. This helps ensure the fishery is fair and certain areas aren’t over-targeted while others are closed.

While domoic acid did not play a role in this year’s delayed opening for the northern area, the fishery south of Cape Blanco remains closed because at least some crab are still above the domoic acid action level. Toxins present an ongoing concern for the state and the industry, and Oregon has a monitoring and response system in place for shellfish to protect public health and manage the risk of contamination. The Oregon Department of Agriculture oversees the collection and testing of shellfish samples. Crabs are sampled every two to four weeks when toxins are above a certain level in razor clams or another indicator species.

Since the first ever in-season commercial closure of a harvest area last year, when a single crab’s viscera tested too high for domoic acid, ODFW, ODA and the industry have adopted new rules to improve traceability in the market chain, resulting in better preparation and response to future domoic acid events.

Efforts to reduce commercial crabbing’s impact on the environment and other marine species are also underway. Since 2014, a derelict gear removal program collecting abandoned crab pots or other equipment has been in place. Commercial crabbers removed 957 old pots from the ocean in 2017 alone. A collaborative working group involving industry, agencies, and conservation organizations is also looking at ways to modify gear and other measures to reduce the risk of whale entanglements.

“We’re looking forward to many more years of a successful commercial crab industry and sustainable resource in Oregon,” ODFW state fishery program leader Troy Buell said in the statement.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.