CCA Pacific Northwest - Coastal Conservation Association of Washington & Oregon

Oregon Supreme Court bounces ballot title back to the Attorney General

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0700

By SARAH ROSS SALEM, Ore.- A recent decision by the Oregon Supreme Court sent a title for an upcoming ballot initiative back toAttorney General John Kroger’s office to be renamed. Initiative Petition 21 would ban the use of gillnets when fishing in the Columbia River. The measure would authorize using seine nets instead of gillnets, the only net currently allowed for fishing in the Columbia.

For First Time, USFWS Analyzes Economic Contributions Of Nation’s Fisheries Programs

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The fisheries program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in association with state agencies and other conservation organizations, contributes $3.6 billion to the nation’s economy and supports 68,000 jobs across the country, according to a new report issued by the agency. Click Here to view the news release.

Trawlers waste 104 tons of Alaska halibut

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Seattle-based trawler Alaska Beauty recently had a great week of halibut fishing in the Gulf of Alaska, according to the latest reports from the Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Only one problem: Alaska Beauty wasnt supposed to be fishing halibut; it was supposed to be fishing cod. Despite that, 43 percent of its catch was halibut. All of that halibut, by law, must be dumped back into the sea. Most of it goes back dead. Some Alaskans are starting to get angry at this sort of large by-catch of halibut by Pacific Northwest and Kodiak-based trawlers at a time when the species stocks are declining, and Alaska charter and commercial longline fisheries are locked in a bitter battle over every flatfish. Click here for the full story.

Marketing Effort Credited With Spurring Biggest Sport Angler Steelhead Catch Since 1969

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The estimated “kept catch” of 13,000 hatchery summer steelhead Aug. 1-28 is a record for any month dating back to at least 1969. That kept catch on the lower river (Bonneville Dam downstream more than 100 miles Tongue Point at Astoria, Ore.) shattered the previous record of 8,549 steelhead caught in July.

CCA GAINS OK From Oregon Sec. Of State To Launch Non-Tribal Gill-Net Ban Initiative

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:30:00 -0700

The Coastal Conservation Association on Tuesday gained permission from the Oregon Secretary of State to launch a drive that would ultimately aim to have voters ban the use of gill nets in the state’s waters for the non-tribal, commercial harvest of fish. Full Story

Community Forum on Protecting Willamette River Fish and Sportfishing

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0700

State Representative Dave Hunt held a Community Forum to discuss the actions needed to protect our salmon from the threat of sea lion predation. Currently, there is legislation pending in Salem to expand hazing efforts and an effort in Congress to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow states to trap and remove sea lions. For more information click here.

ODFW to begin hazing sea lions at Willamette Falls

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0700

By Kara Hansen Murphey The West Linn Tidings, Jan 31, 2011, State wildlife workers will begin hazing sea lions at Willamette Falls starting this Tuesday. This is the second year the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has attempted to drive away California sea lions using surface and underwater explosives near the falls, where the marine mammals hunker down to dine on sturgeon, Chinook salmon and steelhead.

CCA Oregon Comments on the Upper Willamette River Salmon & Steelhead Recovery Plan

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Upper Willamette River Salmon & Steelhead Recovery Plan will provide the framework for recovery of ESA listed salmon and steelhead and guide future policy in the management of Willamette River. This plan is a cooperative effort between the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the State of Oregon to form one plan to govern the upper Willamette. Management practices that are addressed by this plan include: hatchery production, recreational & commercial fishing, forestry, agriculture, predation and dams. Click here to read CCA’s comments on this plan.

CCA Poker Night Friday January 7th at Big Als in Beaverton

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0700

CCA is hosting a Texas Holdem Tournament on January 7th, 2011 at 7 pm at the new Big Als facility in Beaverton. The event is only $40 and is limited to the first 40 attendees. Click here for more information and to purchase your tickets.

Sea lions killing sturgeon in lower Columbia River

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Its not just chinook salmon that sea lions are picking off in the lower Columbia River near the Bonneville Dam, its sturgeon, including the larger spawning fish.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department estimates nearly 11,000 sturgeon will be killed in 2011 by sea lions while the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department estimates the figure will be closer to 7,000.

Another 30 percent cut recommended in Columbia sturgeon harvest

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Washington and Oregon officials are calling for the annual sturgeon harvest in the lower Columbia River to be cut another 30 percent for 2011 through 2013.

Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy coordinator for Washington, recommended to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission Friday that the annual combined sport and commercial take drop to 17,000, down from 24,000 in 2010.

Tests on the Columbia River look for a better way to save wild salmon, and sustain commercial, sports fishermen

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Commercial gillnetters have worked the lower Columbia River since the mid-1800s. Because gillnetting sweeps up so many fish indiscriminately, it is banned everywhere in the lower 48 states — except on the Columbia. Here, commercial gillnetters can work 10 to 15 days a year, depending on the numbers of fish. Only 150 gillnetters make part of their living on the Columbia these days, though there are 550 commercial licenses. The rest of the year they crab, go after herring, sturgeon or bottom fish, or work in Alaska, where gillnetting is still allowed.

Sportfishing Community Applauds Legislation to Improve Federal Marine Fisheries Management System

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

CCA and other sportfishing community leaders applaud legislation to improve Federal Marine Fisheries Management. Bill Nelson of Florida introduced S.3594, the Fishery Conservation Transition Act (FCTA), which is designed to give federal marine fisheries managers the time, resources and more specific direction necessary to address the chronic deficiencies in data collection and science that have been plaguing federal fisheries. View the full Press Release Here. To better understand this legislation and the reason it is needed, click here to view the fact sheet.

Fish face-off - A proposal to ban gillnets in Oregon has commercial fishermen up in arms.

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

High Country News covers Columbia River salmon issues and CCAs goal of implementing selective fisheries. Click here to see the full story by Lee Van Der Loo.

Mark Selective Fishing: New Rule Should Extend to Commercial Summer Chinook Fishery

Sun, 16 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

In this commentary piece, CCA PNW applauds the move to mark selective recreational fishing for summer chinook in the Columbia, but cautions managers about the dangers of the remaining non-selective gillnet harvest of these fish. This nonselective fishery for summer chinook, conducted since 2006, impacts not only wild Columbia summer chinook but five other salmon and steelhead stocks listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act also present in the river during fishing season. In light of this alarming mortality to wild and ESA-listed salmon populations, this fishery should not continue unless and until it can become fully mark selective.

Columbia River Smelt: Vital link in food chain threatened

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Each spring, for thousands of years, bountiful runs of smelt -- a small fish extremely rich in oil -- migrated from the ocean back to the lower Columbia basin to spawn. During this long history, smelt runs to the Cowlitz, Grays, Kalama, Lewis and Sandy rivers were vital to the survival of lower Columbia River tribes, providing food and a valuable source of fat for trade. Over the last century commercial harvests have grown to millions of pounds annually. This valuable fish is also a crucial link in the food chain for dozens of marine species including salmon, birds, seals, sea lions and various whale species. Ironically, vast schools of Columbia smelt likely provided food for the seals and sea lions that now travel far up river to feast on salmon and sturgeon instead.

Group eyes ban on commercial gillnets

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0700

By Henry Miller Statesman Journal February 18, 2010

A top official with the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) said Wednesday that the sponsors hope to retool, retrench and return with a new ballot initiative proposal to ban commercial gillnets on the Columbia River.

CCA Continues Advocacy for Harvest Reform, Recovery of Oregon’s Salmon Runs

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0700

PORTLAND – The following is a statement from Dave Schamp, Chairman of Coastal Conservation Association’s Oregon Board of Directors and a chief petitioner for the Protect Our Salmon Act (POSA), in response to changes made by the Oregon Attorney General’s Office to the ballot title for the Act.

CCA Helps Launch Ballot Initiative to Recover Oregon’s Iconic Salmon Runs

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700

PORTLAND – Coastal Conservation Association is launching a ballot initiative to help save the last remnants of Oregon’s iconic wild salmon runs, and to create a sustainable salmon fishery for current and future generations. The Protect Our Salmon Act would ban the use of gill nets and tangle nets in Oregon waters, including the Columbia River.

For more information, see our Briefing Document.

Fish trappers boost habitat

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700

By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune A group of fish-minded volunteers armed with a wire-mesh contraption and an old-fashion bucket hope to turn large swaths of southeast Medford into a winter nursery ground for wild steelhead. Members of the fledgling Rogue Valley Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association will operate their own trapping program in lower Larson Creek to give wild steelhead, salmon and even native suckers a boost into the creeks upper reaches within Medford.

CCA Names New President

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

HOUSTON, TX – After an extensive nationwide search, Coastal Conservation Association selected conservation veteran Patrick Murray as president of the national organization at its meeting last week in Houston.

“Pat brings unparalleled expertise in the field of marine resource conservation, advocacy, fundraising, membership development and communication,” said Venable Proctor, chairman of CCA National. “He has an exceptional reputation in conservation circles throughout the nation and will be able to leverage his expertise and experience during a crucial time for fisheries management issues.”

NOAA’s Fisheries Service Issues Recovery Plan for Mid-Columbia Steelhead

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today released its recovery plan for Middle Columbia River steelhead, a fish that was first given protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1999.

The recovery plan calls for protecting existing high-quality steelhead habitat, managing agriculture and timber harvest to improve watersheds, and reforming hatcheries to prevent hatchery fish from competing with wild fish. The plan also provides specific actions to reduce predation by birds, marine mammals and non-native fish on steelhead migrating to and from the ocean. Efforts to reintroduce steelhead into the Upper Deschutes, White Salmon and Crooked rivers are also underway.

COMMENTARY: How fishing can help wild salmon recovery

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

BY BRYAN IRWIN

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently invited anglers to "contribute to wild-salmon recovery" by catching up to six hatchery coho a day. You might ask, "How will more fishing bring recovery?"

The key is that anglers can fish "mark-selectively." Their gear allows most salmon to be released relatively unharmed, so the anglers can keep the hatchery fish (identifiable by a clipped adipose fin) and safely release wild "unmarked" salmon to spawn.

Fixing Little Fall Creek

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Restoration effort aims to help threatened native salmon rebuild habitat

By Mike Stahlberg
The Register-Guard

LOWELL - Several men peered into Little Fall Creek from a bridge one day last week, marveling as a salmon hen in the stream below them thrashed from side to side, using her body to gouge out a gravel nest while her mate hovered nearby.

CCA Files Lawsuit to Stop Gulf Grouper Giveaway

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"Fundamentally flawed" catch share program a threat to angling

HOUSTON, TX - Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Fort Myers, Florida, challenging the adoption and implementation of Amendment 29 to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Management Plan approved by United States Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on August 30. Amendment 29 gives away a majority share of Gulf grouper to the commercial fishing industry through a catch share program.

Conservationists call for U.S. action to save bluefin tuna

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

International impasse leaves bluefin on the brink

HOUSTON, TX - Citing the failure of the international community to rein in harvest of bluefin tuna, Coastal Conservation Association is urging the United States to proceed with an effort to list the Atlantic bluefin on Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and prohibit the international trade in bluefin.

Let's apply sustainability to fisheries management

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

By Bryan Irwin, Guest Opinion

It is ironic that Oregon strives to be a leader in sustainability, yet we continue to subject our wild salmon runs to unsustainable harvest practices that are pushing the fish toward extinction.

Each year taxpayers, electric utility rate payers and others collectively contribute about $1 billion to salmon recovery efforts, yet more than half of our region's salmon and steelhead runs are extinct. And while the Obama administration should be applauded for shining a light on salmon recovery efforts, that light is focused in the wrong direction.

States, netters research live-capture salmon fishing

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

BY ALLEN THOMAS COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

SKAMOKAWA — Marty Kuller pushed the throttle ahead slightly on his 25-foot aluminum boat and 720 feet of purse seine net slowly peeled off the stern and into the lower Columbia River.

The net floated in a horseshoe, the other end attached to a skiff.

Twenty minutes later, the seine was gathered into more or less of a circle and the bottom closed, capturing 21 chinook and coho salmon — all marked by state biologists and returned to the river.

3,000 Ghost Nets to Disappear

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

$4.5 million federal grant to speed removal of derelict fishing gear from Puget Sound

The marine resources of Puget Sound received a tremendous boost yesterday when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the Northwest Straits Commission will receive a $4.5 million grant to remove derelict gill nets lost or discarded in Puget Sound. Since its inception in 2006, Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Washington has strongly supported funding for the Northwest Straits Commission and has lobbied federal and state officials to take action to remove these silent killers.

Harvest Management Reforms Essential to Columbia River Salmon Recovery Efforts

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Final spring Chinook count is half of pre-season forecast, but CCA-supported conservation buffer prevents overharvest of endangered stocks

Vancouver, WA - For the second year in a row, the heralded Columbia River spring Chinook season went from banner to bummer. In spite of predictions that the 2009 season would be the Columbia's best run since 2002 at 298,000 returning adults, final counts -- as measured at Bonneville dam through June 15th-- indicate that 147,489 actually passed upriver.

CCA Applauds Congressman Dicks for Salmon Recovery Efforts

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Increased Mitchell Act Hatchery Funding illustrates Congressman's continued commitment to restoring Northwest salmon runs

Vancouver, WA - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2010 spending bill for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes a significant increase in funding for Mitchell Act Hatcheries in the Columbia River basin. Coastal Conservation Association, the largest marine conservation organization in the Pacific Northwest, applauded the increased funding and the tireless efforts of Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA) to advocate for the recovery and preservation of Northwest salmon runs.

All tangled in the nets on the Columbia

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

By Rick Attig, The Oregonian
The OregonianA gill-netter works the Columbia River

Threatened salmon are dying, sportfishing is crimped and an outdoor retail chain goes belly up

It stinks what passes for salmon harvest policy on the Columbia River. Everyone smells it -- lawmakers, gill-netters, sport fishermen, fish commissioners -- but all the Northwest has done is hold its collective nose.

CCA Promotes Legislation to Advance Salmon Recovery

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

HB 2579 would re-legalize the use of commercial fishing gear capable of selectively harvesting hatchery salmon while sparing endangered and wild stocks

PORTLAND - To achieve salmon recovery and leverage record investments in habitat, hatchery and hydro improvements, Coastal Conservation Association is asking the Oregon legislature to swiftly implement selective harvest reform through HB 2579, which would re-legalize the use of commercial fishing gear capable of selectively harvesting hatchery salmon while sparing endangered and wild stocks.

CCA Opposes Power Grab

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Senate bill will cripple Fish and Wildlife Commission

OLYMPIA - A bill supported by the commercial fishing industry is threatening to effectively dismantle the voter-mandated Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and centralize the oversight of the state's fish and wildlife resources into the hands of a select few. If passed into law, SSB 5127 would represent a radical shift in philosophy from the current citizen-driven Commission management structure and prevent Washingtonians from having any meaningful say in the policies and rules governing their natural resources.

Colville Tribes' Selective Fishing Gear Tests Show Low Wild Summer Chinook Mortality

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700

by Staff, Columbia Basin Bulletin

Central Washington's Colville Tribes have seen early successes in tests of selective fishing gear that they say can increase the viability of wild salmon populations by allowing increased spawner escapement and lessening the straying of hatchery fish on to spawning grounds.

The tribe is now encouraging others -- sport and commercial fishers on the lower Columbia River, in particular -- to jump on board.

CCA calls for end to night gillnetting

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700

BY ALLEN THOMAS
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

The Coastal Conservation Association is calling for an end to night-hours gillnetting in the lower Columbia River.

Ed Wickersham, chairman of the Government Relations Committee of CCA-Washington, told the Columbia River Compact last week that the old arguments for commercial fishing at night are no longer valid.

Brothers to pay $150,000 in Columbia River fishing fines

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0700

By John Killen, The Oregonian
-- The Associated Press

Four brothers have agreed through a plea bargain to pay $150,000 in fines for commercial fishing offenses on the Columbia River.

The investigation by Oregon State Police wildlife officers extended from October 2005 to January 2007.

CCA Oregon Takes a Stand for Proper Management of Coastal Resources

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Oregon (July 14, 2008) -- There is an effort in Oregon proposing new and permanent marine reserves that could eliminate many, if not all, recreational fishing uses in these designated areas forever. The supporters of these proposed marine reserves have not clearly identified a management need or specific biological reason for such dramatic management measures.

Advocacy group sets sights on regional fishing policy

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Oregonian

A s salmon issues in Oregon and Washington veer toward a possible legislative meltdown next spring, there's a new player in the game.

In the year since it has emerged across communities in the two states, the Coastal Conservation Association has become a force to be reckoned with.