attendees. Snider also thanked Jay Joseph for his recent insightful op-ed, “Without little fish, big fish won’t thrive,” in the Daily Press. It was also announced at the ban-
quet that local fourth-grade teacher, Michele Ferrel, is the recipient of CCA Virginia’s Annual Conservation Award. Ferrel guided her students through the legislative maze associat- ed with the class’s initiative (proposed and sponsored by CCA Virginia) to have the legislature designate the striped bass as the commonwealth’s official saltwater fish. It was an awe- some learning experience that her students will carry with them for a lifetime.
New website Thanks to the efforts of Vice Chair -
man Tom Raffetto, CCA Virginia has a new streamlined web site. The site not only offers a more cost-effective com- munications vehicle, but also was specifically redesigned for mobile devices and offers subscription ser- vices so individuals can keep up to date on the latest conservation and chapter news. The site’s address remains the same,
ccavirginia.org.
WASHINGTON
Washington Commission meeting recap
In November, the Washington
Depart ment of Fish and Wildlife Commission took public comment on ending the use of indiscriminate com- mercial gill nets in the lower mainstem Columbia River. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber developed the proposal and both the Washington and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commissions are poised to take action on it in the near future. CCA was well represented at this
meeting with nearly 50 members in attendance. Official CCA testimony was provided by Ed Wickersham, Harry Barber, Heath Heikkila and Stan Brogdon. Many other individual CCA members testified as well. Topics cov- ered included the wasteful bycatch of gill nets, the value of mark-selective fisheries, importance of recreational fisheries to both large and small com- munities, and derelict nets. In addition to a number of members from the Puget Sound area, CCA members trav- eled from as far north as Bellingham, south from Vancouver and east from Wenatchee and Tri-Cities. Nearly every
TIDE
one of CCA Washington’s 14 chapters was represented at this meeting.
Bi-state meeting in Seaside
• Fall fisheries are to be managed to
ensure more consistent seasons includ- ing Chinook retention through Labor Day at the popular “Buoy 10” fishery;
• Based on recent stock assessments, there is potential for a non-retention stur- geon fishery in the lower Columbia River.
BEN KOCIAN
Art, Fishing Lures, Collectables For Sale
Also in November, the third and
final meeting between a panel of repre- sentatives from both Oregon and Washington took place in Seaside, Oregon. The purpose of the meeting was to reach consensus on a plan to remove gill nets from the lower main- stem Columbia River. About 200 people attended the
Seaside meeting, in the heart of gill-net- ter territory, and approximately two- thirds of those in attendance were in support of the plan to remove gill nets from the lower mainstem Colum bia River. We once again had an excellent turnout of CCA members. While the majority of CCA mem-
bers in attendance were from Oregon, we owe a special thanks to those Washing ton members from the Southwest Washington, Lower Colum- bia and Twin Harbors chapters. In addition to all those members who provided their own transportation to and from the meeting, the Stop Gill - nets Now campaign chartered a bus for the one-and-half hour trip from Portland to Seaside.
Although this is a fluid process, highlighted below are some of the key features of the plan that is likely to be adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commissions in both Washington and Oregon.
• No gill nets in the lower mainstem
Columbia River starting in 2017. Gill nets will be transitioned to off channel, terminal fishery areas;
• Increase the recreational fishing
allocation on spring Chinook to 70 per- cent starting in 2013 and to 80 percent by 2017;
• Increase the recreational fishing
allocation on Summer Chinook to 60 percent starting in 2013 and to 100 per- cent by 2017;
www.joincca.org 61
BenKocian.com email:
info@BenKocian.com
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