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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2018)
community february1 2018 Oregon’s Dungeness Crab Fishery Gets Underway known as the Tri-State Agreement. They jointly set a season opening date for the area from Point Arena, California to Grays Harbor, Washington, or divide it into two areas with different opening dates. This helps to ensure that the fish- 15 continued from page 9 Oregon Department of Agricul- ture (ODA) 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. If a The 2016-17 Oregon Dungeness crab season, which set a record ex-vessel value (or average price) of $62.7 million, with landings totaling 20 million pounds, 22% above the 10-year average. Crabbing boats heading out of Newport in search of Dungeness crab on Monday, January 22, 2018. Photo by Lindsay X Aylesworth, ODFW. ery 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 crabs 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 shell- fish to protect public health and manage the risk of contamination. single crab tests above the action level (20 parts per million for meat, 30 for viscera), that harvest area is closed and any crabs taken recently by the com- mercial industry are not sold to consum- ers. (When viscera is above 30 ppm but meat is below 20 ppm, managers can sometimes order that crab be eviscerated rather than doing a full closure.) It takes two clean tests, taken at least seven days apart, for ODA and ODFW to reopen the harvest area. 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 under- way. 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 or- ganizations is also looking at ways to modify gear and other measures to re- duce the risk of whale entanglements. “We’re looking forward to many more years of a successful commercial crab industry and sustainable resource in Oregon,” said Troy Buell, ODFW state fishery program leader. Vernonia’s Voice is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursday. Look for our next issue on February 15. Valentine Classified Ads Join us in wishing our loved ones a Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s not ALL about Sweethearts... it’s about LOVE! Remember grandparents, parents, children, spouses, grandchildren, aunts & uncles, nieces & nephews, best friends, pets, even your hunting buddy! 4. 3. 2. 1. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. It's easy! 1. Write your message (30 words or less) ______________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Choose your icon #_________ 3. Send this ad and a check for $5 for each classified to: Valentine Classified PO Box 55, Vernonia, OR 97064 4. Deadline: Monday, February 12. Valentine Classifieds to be published in the February 15th issue. Additional messages: _______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Icon # ________ __________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Icon # ________ Little Brown Bat, I’m so glad you are here to enrich my life. Thanks for being such a good friend. Mom, Thank you for always being there for me. I love you to the moon and back. Bill Gabby & Olive, we will get our pack on. Happy Valentine’s Day. Trevor & Sophie, we hope to see you again soon! Your Vernonia Aunt & Uncle Courtney and Michael, You make my life wonderful! I love you two! Love, Grandma Guthrie, glad you’re here. Okemah 15. 16. 17.
