10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015
Toxin: If the levels change, the season could open back up again
Continued from Page 1A
their internal organs. While
these organs, or viscera, are
not typically consumed some
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some fishermen have won-
dered why the agency didn’t
just issue an order allowing
the sale of eviscerated crab
— where the organs are re-
moved and the meat remains.
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such an order would be diffi-
cult to enforce especially at
this point in the season when
many small-time wholesale
buyers are looking to buy
whole crab.
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however, may have had to
occur if domoic acid lev-
els had shot up in January
when harvest is typically at
its peak and seafood plants
are processing a lot of crab
meat.
“That’s a big discussion
we’ll need to have with the
industry ... especially if this
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Currently, crab samples
have been found with lev-
els of domoic acid as high
as 65 parts per million. The
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threshold for crab is 30 parts
per million. In 2003, sam-
ples of crab revealed levels
as high as 80 parts per mil-
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If the levels change, the
season could open back up
again. Crabbing normally
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the opening is often delayed
by up to a month to allow the
newly moulted crab to hard-
en and put on meat.
“It’s not like this is the
HQG RI WKH VHDVRQ´ $\UHV
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fisheries closure. “We’re go-
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Oregon not affected
1RUWK RI &KHKDOLV 3RLQW
including Grays Harbor,
ermen landed 16.7 million
pounds. The average season
comes out to about 9.5 mil-
lion pounds, according to
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through multi-year cycles of
abundance
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from the ocean and Colum-
bia River average about 16.3
million pounds a season,
with a record high of 33.5
million pounds recorded in
the 2004-2005 season, but
have come to only 7.5 mil-
OLRQ SRXQGV DV RI$SULO WKLV
season.
Information
received
IURP WKH 2UHJRQ 'HSDUW
ment of Fish and Wildlife
shows a rising price per
SRXQG $W WKH VWDUW RI WKH
season, fishermen saw an
average price of $3.62 per
pound. That jumped by a lit-
tle over a dollar in January
and then leaped up to $8.23
a pound in February due to
high demand for crab during
Chinese New Year celebra-
tions. The average price
EO Media Group file
went down to $7.44 a pound
Crabbers pull in their gear following a finding by the Washington State Department of Health that a marine toxin has in March and then to $6.87 a
climbed to more than double safe levels in the guts of coastal Dungeness.
SRXQGLQ$SULO
Ilwaco-based
proces-
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what has already been a poor sor’s, Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish
‘It’s not like this is the end season. Though the crab &RPSDQ\ DQG ,OZDFR /DQG
VWLOO RSHQ DQG 6WHYH 5XP
rill, shellfish program leader
of the season. We’re going caught have been large and ing, could not be reached for
IRU WKH 2UHJRQ 'HSDUWPHQW
meaty and prices per pound FRPPHQW EXW WKH 'XQJQHVV
to continue to test.’
of Fish and Wildlife, said
started and remained high, closure likely won’t harm
there are no concerns about
the crab are few and far be- %HOO%XR\&UDE&RPSDQ\LQ
— Dan Ayres
Chinook.
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tween.
coastal shellfish manager for the Dungeness crab fisheries agency
“There’s only one ves-
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In March, fishermen land-
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ed 126,537 pounds in Wash- sel here in the port still
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High levels of the toxin ington, down from Febru- DFWLYHO\ ILVKLQJ´ VDLG
SDUWPHQW RI$JULFXOWXUH ODVW where they landed a load of were also noted in Willapa DU\ ZKHQ :'): UHFRUGHG 6WHYH 0DQHZDO PDQDJHU
week and tests showed lev- FUDE$Q\'XQJHQHVVFDXJKW %D\ OHDGLQJ WR D EULHI FOR SRXQGVODQGHG$QG at the seafood processing
els of domoic acid were be- in the closed Washington VXUH WKHUH 2\VWHUJURZHUV that was drastically down plant. He explained that
ORZ WKH WKUHVKROG 6WLOO LQ waters should not be sold to feared long-term closures, from 3.2 million pounds crab landings at the plant
light of the Washington clo- 2UHJRQ SURFHVVRUV RU EX\ but levels of domoic acid landed in January and the usually slow down around
VXUH 2UHJRQ¶V 'HSDUWPHQW ers, he said.
have since gone down in 3.1 million pounds landed in this time of year anyway
RI$JULFXOWXUHSODQVWRVDP
:'): EHJDQ WR ZRUU\ the bay while still remain- 'HFHPEHU ZKHQ WKH VHDVRQ as fishermen transition into
other fisheries.
SOHFUDE DWSRUWV IURP$VWR DERXW 'XQJHQHVV FUDEV DIWHU ing high off Washington and opened.
“It’s a slow catch (this
ULDWR&RRV%D\
Total landings for the
dangerously high levels of do- 2UHJRQ¶VRFHDQEHDFKHVQHDU
Meanwhile, a number of moic acid were noted in both the mouth of the Columbia 2014-2015 season as of year) combined with the
commercial crabbers hold the water and razor clams River.
March 24 come to a little fact that a lot of the crab
dual licenses, allowing them DORQJWKH/RQJ%HDFK3HQLQ
over 7 million pounds. In fishermen here are in the
Few landings
to fish for and land crab in VXOD DQG 2UHJRQ¶V )RUW 6WH
the 2013-2014 season, fish- SURFHVV RI JRLQJ WR $ODVND
7KH'XQJHQHVVFORVXUHLV ermen landed 9.5 million IRU VDOPRQ ILVKLQJ´ 0DQ
ERWK :DVKLQJWRQ DQG 2UH vens in May leading to clam-
another blow to fishermen in pounds. In 2010-2011, fish- ewal said.
gon. Rumrill says it is up ming closures in both states.
Smyth: He sees ending his
administrative career in Knappa
Continued from Page 1A
skills they are expected to
learn as they progress through
their education.
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improved the number of its
students meeting or exceed-
ing state standards in reading,
writing, math and science by
more than 30 percent.
“I think it is a diamond
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Knappa. “It’s waiting for ex-
cellence, and it’s got the po-
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A new challenge
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looking for more of a chal-
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spent four years as principal
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years as assistant principal at
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school social studies teach-
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where he also served as the
head wrestling coach and as-
sistant football coach. He has
a master’s degree in education
from Claremont Graduate
University and a bachelor’s
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tutions in Claremont, Calif.
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and attended Cleveland High
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nine children to graduate col-
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Tube
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that opportunity changed my
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His oldest, Colleen, recently
graduated from Willamette
University and is heading to
Nashville, Tenn., on an as-
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egon. His youngest, Francie,
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ing his administrative career
in Knappa, staying about six
years before moving out of
school districts but into a re-
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Pot: Ferrioli wants people in areas of
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have time to adjust to the ‘sea change’
Continued from Page 1A
lack of an option in that bill
for cities and counties to ban
pot businesses that caught
Ferrioli’s attention.
Ferrioli wrote in the email
that he worked hard on legis-
lation to implement Measure
91, including with his proposal
to allow medical dispensaries
to sell pot to adults age 21 and
older starting July 1 because the
state will not launch its recre-
ational pot system until 2016.
“In return, I have asked that
you respect the 22 counties and
140 plus cities which opposed or
voted (for) a moratorium on im-
plementation of (Measure 91) by
allowing them to opt-out through
a simple vote of local elected of-
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wego, the co-chairs of the legis-
lative committee.
If the committee does not
allow cities and counties to pass
bans, Ferrioli wrote that “I will
vote ‘no’ on this bill and oppose
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on the grounds that it will force
cities and counties to approve
‘Counties and
cities voted
to become
either wet
or dry.’
— State Sen.
Ted Ferrioli
talking about the end of
Prohibition
actions constituting a willful
violation of federal law, or, in
consequence, to become respon-
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In an interview Wednesday af-
ternoon, Ferrioli said he wants to
allow time for people in areas of
the state that opposed legalization
of marijuana to adjust to the “sea
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the end of prohibition on alcohol.
“Counties and cities voted to
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rioli said.
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late Wednesday afternoon they
see promise in a proposal by the
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in cities and counties that vot-
ed against Measure 91 — the
November initiative to legalize
marijuana for adults — to pass
bans on medical and recre-
ational pot businesses. Elected
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where voters approved Measure
91 could also vote to pass bans,
but those would be referred to
the voters.
“I think it has potential be-
cause it recognizes that some
areas just did not vote for (Mea-
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of whether there are enough
votes to pass legislation without
Ferrioli’s support, the goal is to
attain broad support for any leg-
islation they pass.
“We’ve been bipartisan all
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“We want to continue in a bipar-
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worked on the opt-out proposal.
“We’ve just been sort of look-
ing for a creative way to address
the disparity, the geographic dis-
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“I think we found something that
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The legislative committee
is expected to meet again next
week.
Co m fo rt Zo n e.
There is a tim e to step ou t of you r com fort zon e a n d a tim e
to em bra ce it. D ew ils cu stom ca bin ets a re m a d e to you r
specifica tion s, so you ca n crea te a spa ce tha t’s u n iq u ely you rs.
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