About SAFE for Salmon

My Oregon company, at one time employed 15 full-time workers, building lures and fishing accessories for the sport fishing markets of the Pacific Northwest.

Over recent years we were reduced to a workforce of just myself and a few family members due to truncated, unstable salmon seasons.

Now, with the potentially good news of a robust spring salmon run, we have hired a part-time production worker and were contemplating moving him to full-time and hiring another part-timer.

We had hoped that this was just the beginning of a resurgence that would lead to more sales, more production, and thus more Oregon jobs.

But now, due to decisions made by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission that reduce and destabilize sport fishing opportunities, we will have to reconsider.

We are not even sure now that we can or should continue to carry a payroll for even our one part-timer.

Incidentally, that part-time employee's wife is disabled and unable to earn a paycheck and he himself has recently been laid off from his full-time job, leaving them and their two kids dependant on this supplemental income.

Each year my wife and I invite our family members and friends to join us over Labor Day weekend and through the following week to enjoy salmon fishing on the Lower Columbia River.

We utilize a minimum of 2 guide/charter boats along with our own boat over that week to accommodate all that come down to join us.

We either rent a house for the week or use up to 3 hotel rooms for the week.

We average a total of 92 meals in restaurants along with the groceries and snacks we take on the boat and bring back to the house or our motel rooms.

We visit local attractions but the salmon fishing is the main attraction that brings us into the community each year.

This past year (2008), the lower river closure that took effect on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend greatly affected our family and friends plans for the week.

Several of our family members and friends chose not to come down and those that did ended up leaving early.

This year we are not planning on spending our usual week down at the coast, the cost is too great for such a risk that the season will be closed down early again.

Our average week costs for our family during that week:

Lodging: $2,250

Restaurants: $900

Guides/charters: $1,800 - $2,500

Shopping: $250-$700

Groceries: $275

Local attractions: $200

Boat moorage: $140

Boat Fuel: $200

Total: $6,015 - $7,165

We will continue to vacation during that week, the question is where.

It makes no sense to make the necessary reservations and deposits with motel/vacation home rentals, guide/charter boats that are necessary months in advance if the main attraction of that vacation is uncertain.

My wife and I can certainly spend a week in Hawaii or take a fishing trip in Alaska for the cost of the week we spend at the north coast of Oregon, we would actually prefer to spend that week with family and friends doing the salmon fishing that we all enjoy so much in the state that we live in.

Limited and unpredictable seasons have done nothing but hurt my guide business in rural Tillamook County.

Every year I spend (or try to spend) a great deal of my fishing seasons on the Columbia River fishing for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon.

And every year we get the same thing, early closures on our fisheries.

It has become very difficult to book anglers, especially out of state anglers, during the peak fishing seasons.

In fact I am getting less and less out of state guests.

Anglers are getting tired of having to change locations or even cancel fishing all together when I have to call them on short notice and tell them that the season has been shut down early.

Even on seasons that we are assured will last for the full season.

Spring chinook, URB, tule, coho and sturgeon.

They all are regularly closed down early.

Deposits have to be refunded, hotel and air line reservations have to be canceled and my bills end up late.

The poor management of our fisheries is unacceptable.