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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, SEpTEmbER 2, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
production manager
CARL EARL
Systems manager
GUEST COLUMN
A starvation plan
nce again, recreational fisher-
Most Oregonians are not sport fish-
men descended on the Colum-
ermen and would like to have access
bia River in August for the
to a piece of this salmon through their
Buoy 10 salmon season, hoping to
favorite restaurant, grocery store or
hook into some of these iconic fish.
fish market. Commercial fishermen are
One only needed to take a drive
the means by which most people have
across the Astoria Bridge to witness
access to these salmon.
the chaos in what I would describe as
Tourists from all around the world
“combat fishing.” Lots of boats jock-
that come to our town like to see a
eying for position and often fishing
working waterfront and eat a piece
right next to each other. Tangled
of locally harvested, fresh sea-
food. This time of year it should
lines are common and there
be locally caught salmon on
have even been some serious
the menu, harvested by one of
collisions between boats.
our own commercial fisher-
This fishery has changed
men. The current allocations
dramatically over the years
giving the bulk of the available
from a small local fishery into
salmon harvested over to the
an aggressive regional fishery
CARY
recreational side, while pushing
dominated by a nonlocal guide
JOHNSON
commercial fishermen aside, is
fleet. These professional sport
completely unfair.
fishermen are very effective at
The gillnet fishermen that har-
harvesting large numbers of salmon,
vested these salmon live here in your
and the percentage they catch grows
local area, pay taxes here, maintain
larger every year. The speed and effec-
tiveness of how quickly the allocated
their homes, boats and equipment
number of salmon are caught can lead
here and support our community year-
to early closures or reduced bag limits.
round. These commercial fishermen
In seeing the way this fishery is
are still here, but many of them are
going, it pays to remember that not
struggling to provide for their fami-
lies in a way of life that has sustained
long ago we used to have a vibrant
them for generations. These commer-
local commercial gillnet fishery that
cial fishermen do not just simply pro-
harvested these salmon as well.
vide a temporary bump in tourism and
Due to unfair policies started by
then head back to their homes, tow-
Gov. John Kitzhaber and perpetu-
ing their boats and taking their dollars
ated by Gov. Kate Brown, our gill-
net fleet is being starved to death and
with them.
a big hole has been shot in our econ-
Don’t get me wrong, I’m support-
ive of a vibrant and successful sport
omy. Not because of lack of salmon,
fishery, and salmon need all of us pull-
but because these governors have seen
ing for their success and recovery.
to it that the recreational fleet gets to
Commercial fishermen are one of the
harvest the majority of salmon. They
strongest advocates for the success of
have apparently bought into the idea
salmon species, after all, their liveli-
that our commercial fishermen can
hoods depend on abundant salmon.
survive in off-channel reservations,
The harvest of these iconic fish just
such as Youngs Bay, and that this can
needs to be fair and equitable for all
somehow make up for lost opportunity
Oregonians. Our economy is much
on the main stem of the Columbia.
bigger than just tourism and recre-
It’s a starvation plan and it means
ation, and we need the jobs that com-
poverty for commercial fishermen try-
mercial fishing provides to our com-
ing to survive. It’s a hit our economy
munity. With the right management,
cannot afford. The policy is not work-
ing, and can only be described as a
we can have both.
complete failure.
Cary Johnson is a gillnet fisherman.
O
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
People return to the Hammond Marina after a morning of fishing during Buoy 10 salmon
season.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Wildlife deserves better
A
s a volunteer for the Wildlife Cen-
ter of the North Coast, I had the priv-
ilege of helping their staff rehabilitate
seven young white pelicans.
We were able to release three of these
magnificent birds back into Youngs Bay
last month. The remaining four birds
will be released when they are healthy
enough.
It was a heartwarming moment when
they were released, their joy of being
free in their natural element was evident.
What’s not so heartwarming is the reason
the pelicans ended up at the wildlife cen-
ter in the first place.
In the days following the Fourth of
July, these juvenile birds were found in
parking lots, on the Astoria Riverwalk
and on city streets, lost and confused.
The culprit? Astoria’s massive fireworks
show, of course. The noise and explo-
sions so terrified the birds that they fled
their flocks in a panic, trying to escape
the mayhem.
I’m sorry people, but there is noth-
ing good about fireworks. Ask any vet,
animal shelter or pet owner and you will
likely get an earful about the damage and
disruption that fireworks cause.
Considering the trash and microplas-
tics generated by fireworks that end up in
our rivers and on our beaches, the hun-
dreds of serious injuries that occur to peo-
ple and children every year, the incalcula-
ble trauma to our wildlife and pets, there
is only one option.
Fireworks need to be banned, espe-
cially mega-shows as Astoria puts on.
Step up Astoria, our community and wild-
life deserve better.
MICHAEL TIERNEY
Astoria
Striving
s a construction contractor, both
civilian and military, I have been
blessed with the opportunity to have spo-
ken with a large variety of people — rich
and poor, motivated and lazy, and both
those who love life and those who seem
to hate everything.
Even the nice people who are actu-
ally talking about themselves have the
same outspoken concern: Younger Amer-
icans have a deeply rooted belief they
are personally owed something. Now we
know every generation says this about the
newer one, but this time it’s true.
The outcome of when all participants
A
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has come back to bite us. Evolution has
proven the necessity for humans to have
something to strive for.
When we are rewarded without expec-
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sacrifice really is, or self-respect or empa-
thy for others. The truth of the matter is
all humans, including Americans, are only
given two things: Life and a name, if you
are lucky. Everything else is from others.
After losing so many friends and fam-
ily last year, now is the perfect time to
reevaluate our priorities. Let us all slow
down our lives just a bit.
TROY J. HASKELL
Astoria
Why the wait?
D
id I miss something?
I recently read that firefighters and
other Astoria city personnel are required
to get the COVID-19 vaccination by the
end of September or mid-October.
With public service departments meet-
ing with citizens face to face every day,
why the wait? Why not require vacci-
nations within one week? It seems to
me these vital services would welcome
becoming safer themselves in order to
better assist the public.
LEE JETTE
Astoria