Legislature Denies Funding for Yaquina and Coos Bay Spring Chinook Salmon Plan
Fisherman Grant Beady with a fall chinook salmon caught in Coos Bay. A plan to introduce spring salmon into Yaquina and Coos bays is on hold after the state legislature didn't include it in the budget this year. (Photo by Mike Gaddis)
By Larry Coonrod
NEWPORT—A plan to create a spring chinook salmon fishery in Yaquina and Coos bays is on ice after the state legislature spiked funding for the program.
First proposed three years ago by the nonprofit organization Salmon for Oregon, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife adopted the project as part of the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan. The concept calls for placing hatchery-raised salmon smolts in lower river net pens for several weeks of acclimation before releasing them. If all goes well, the fish will return as adults over the next three years.
The plan calls for small releases (100,000) in the first few years to test the concept before increasing the number of fish in later years. Supporters believe that the low water levels and temperatures in the Yaquina and Coos rivers will keep the returning net pen fish in the lower estuaries until they are caught or die, preventing them from mingling with native fall fish.
Boost to Local Economy
The Yaquina and Coos rivers support native fall chinook runs that began arriving in August, but neither have a spring fishery. By introducing springers the hope is to create a new fishery in May and June.
“We wanted to see if by using our hatchery approaches we couldn’t jump-start a bit of an economic boost in the springtime and provide some fishing opportunities,” said Ed Bowles, ODFW Fish Division administrator.
A 2013 study prepared for ODFW showed that a salmon angler contributes on average $44.64 per day to the local economy when fishing coastal rivers and $145.04 per day when pursuing them in the ocean. Ocean and river salmon anglers contributed about $35 million to the coastal economy in 2012, according to the study.
“For six weeks to two months you could create a spring economy opportunity that wasn’t there before,” said Jim Wright, Salmon for Oregon’s unpaid lobbyist and spokesperson.
No Funding from Legislature
The cost for the first two years of the program, including purchasing the large net pens, is estimated at about $350,000. Bowles said the cash-strapped ODFW won’t rob existing programs to fund the net pen project.
Sen. Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay) and Wright remained confident right up to the end of this year’s legislative session that lawmakers would come through with dollars needed to put the net pens in the bay next spring. In the end, the program may have fallen victim to coastal legislators’ success in securing funding for other large projects.
When the ink dried on the biennium budget, Oregon State University had $24 million for a new 500 student campus at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Millions more are going to Highway 126 rehabilitation near Florence, the Tillamook Railroad and port dredging.
“No one said it officially, but you can’t give everything to one part of the state,” Roblan said.
When the legislature meets for a short session next year Roblan says salmon net pen funding will be one of the three bills he is allowed to introduce.
Yaquina Bay Coho Project
There is a historical precedent for releasing hatchery smolts directly into Yaquina Bay. In the 1980s, Oregon Aqua Foods raised millions of coho at a private hatchery in the Willamette Valley before transporting them to Newport holding ponds at its facility located near the present day NOAA MOC-P docks. After acclimation, the fish were barged out to sea and released. Ore Aqua harvested salmon returning to its fish ladders for commercial sale and at one point was owned by Weyerhauser. For a number of political and economic reasons, the operation folded after a few years.
According to locals, the Ore Aqua venture provided unbelievable fishing opportunities. Historical records show 227,000 coho returning to the processing plant one year. Old photographs from the era show anglers lined up shoulder-to-shoulder casting from the jetties and banks.
“I used to go down there on the jetty and catch my limit all the time, said Peggy Sabanskas. “It was my favorite fishery.”
“That year all the fish came back I had 110 in a rowboat; if that gives you an idea,” said Lincoln County Commissioner and commercial fisherman Terry Thompson.
Local Support
When Salmon for Oregon began pushing the net pen project three years ago, local governments and fishing groups jumped on board with the effort. The City of Newport donated $5,000 to the cause and set aside a $25,000 tourism facility grant. The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners provided $5,000 with a promise of more once the project got off the ground.
The U DA MAN fishing group in Newport backed the project and plans to provide volunteers to feed and care for the smolts during their six-week stay in the net pens.
Wright says Salmon for Oregon plans to renew its effort at the legislature next year. And the organization also plans to expand beyond the spring chinook project, to educating the public about “why hatcheries are good and how they fit into conservation and habitat.”
“Salmon for Oregon is not going away,” Wright said.
Bowles, the ODFW Fish Division chief, remains optimistic that Yaquina and Coos anglers will have a shot at spring chinook in the not too distant future.
“We’re not viewing this as a permanent setback on this program,” he said. “It’s part of the coastal plan and we still support implementing it. We’ll just be patient and wait for the appropriate funding.”
For more information about Salmon for Oregon, go to www.salmonfororegon.org
Contact reporter Larry Coonrod by emailing editor@lincolncountydispatch.com
