A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021
IN BRIEF
Man indicted for sex abuse associated
with Jewell School District
KING
TIDES
The Clatsop County Sheriff ’s Offi ce said the man
indicted in late November on multiple sex abuse
charges was associated with the Jewell School
District.
David Michael Brandon, 44, taught wood shop at
the school district, where he worked from 2016 to
2019. The alleged crimes, which the sheriff ’s offi ce
said involved a student, occurred in 2018 and 2019.
“Obviously, if that’s the case, that’s very alarming,
disappointing and of great concern for us,” Steve Phil-
lips, the superintendent of the school district, said.
Brandon, who is listed in court records as hav-
ing a Clatskanie address, was hired earlier this year
to teach physical education at Hilda Lahti Elementary
School in the Knappa School District. After his arrest,
Brandon was placed on administrative leave, Knappa
Superintendent Bill Fritz said.
The sheriff ’s offi ce said that anyone with informa-
tion about potential victims or witnesses is encour-
aged to contact Detective Jodi Libertad at jlibertad@
co.clatsop.or.us or 502-325-8635.
Port, city to release more details
on waterfront master plan
The Port of Astoria and the city are hosting a second
public meeting to discuss the waterfront master plan,
which seeks to reinvent the Port’s industrial waterfront
between Pier 1 and the Astoria Bridge.
A more refi ned concept will be presented and addi-
tional public comment will be accepted.
The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 14
via Zoom.
People can participate by following the Zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/j/5033255821
— The Astorian
DEATHS
Dec. 4, 2021
In COCHRAN,
Brief
William
Casey Sr., 63, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Deaths
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton
Mortuary of Astoria is in
charge of the arrangements.
HAWKS, Stephen M.,
63, of Warrenton, died
in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
Dec. 3, 2021
DANIELS, Raymond
S., 85, of Astoria, died
in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
ON THE RECORD
Sex abuse
• Brianna Jean Palmer,
23, of Warrenton, was
indicted on Nov. 24 for
two counts of unlaw-
ful sexual penetration in
the fi rst degree and eight
counts of sexual abuse
in the fi rst degree. The
alleged crimes occurred
between 2010 and 2013.
Assault
• Matthew James Wil-
liams, 31, of Clarksville,
Tennessee, was arrested
on Saturday at Commer-
cial and 11th streets in
Astoria for assault in the
fourth degree.
DUII
• Ricky Dean Sutton,
57, of Warrenton, was
arrested on Saturday for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants and
criminal mischief in the
third degree. He was
allegedly riding a bike in
the parking lot of Motel
6 on W. Marine Drive
in Astoria and struck a
parked vehicle, knock-
ing off its mirror, police
said.
On the Record
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., Bob
Chisholm Community Center, 1225 Avenue A.
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Clatsop Care Health District Board, 5 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
Astoria Library Board, 5:30 p.m., Astoria Library, main
reading area, 450 10th St.
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Clatsop County Fair Board, 5:30 p.m., 92937 Walluski
Loop, Astoria.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
WEDNESDAY
Astoria Parks Board, 6:45 a.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Astoria School District Board, 7 p.m., (electronic meet-
ing).
THURSDAY
Sunset Empire Transportation District Board, 9 a.m.,
(electronic meeting).
Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning Advisory
Committee, 1 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave.
Gearhart Planning Commission, 6 p.m., (electronic
meeting).
Warrenton Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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A woman photographed a storm at Cannon Beach during king tides on Saturday.
Rockfi sh: It isn’t clear yet why they’re
so abundant off the Oregon Coast now
Continued from Page A1
The shortbelly’s expan-
sion north puts them in the
path of the state’s midwater
trawl fi sheries. The Pacifi c
whiting fi shery began to
record increased encoun-
ters with shortbelly rockfi sh
beginning in 2017.
Most tows that snag
shortbelly may only land
around 10 pounds of the
rockfi sh, but every once in a
while there will be a big tow
— a lightning strike — of
over 100,000 pounds.
Triggered a review
The rising number of
shortbelly landings triggered
a review by the Pacifi c Fish-
ery Management Council.
The council, which rec-
ommends fi shery manage-
ment measures in federal
waters off California, Ore-
gon and Washington state,
took several interim steps
in 2019 and 2020 to pro-
tect the fi sh. They raised the
annual catch limit and desig-
nated the rockfi sh as an eco-
system component species,
a title that recognizes short-
belly’s value in the ecosys-
tem as a forage fi sh but does
not come with specifi c fi sh-
ery management measures.
Conservation
groups
argued that more proactive
protection was needed.
The Audubon Society
and Oceana urged for a pro-
hibition that would prevent
the creation of a fi shery tar-
geting shortbelly rockfi sh.
Right now, shortbelly is
nearly useless to fi shermen.
Vessels in the Pacifi c whit-
ing fi shery actively try to
avoid them. When a vessel
does hit a school of short-
belly, the spiny fi sh tangle
in the net, creating frustrat-
ing work for crew and some-
times damaging more valu-
able fi sh around them.
But as interest in aqua-
culture opportunities and
demand for fi shmeal and
fi sh oil grows, conservation
groups worry about what the
future could hold.
In November, the coun-
cil further limited catch of
the fi sh and could consider
examining a prohibition on
a directed fi shery for short-
belly next year.
It’s a partial win, said Joe
Liebezeit, a scientist and
avian conservation manager
for Portland Audubon.
Anna Weinstein, the
director of marine conserva-
tion with the National Audu-
bon Society, agrees. She said
the council’s action provides
some truly meaningful safe-
guards and breaks.
But in light of climate
change, “It’s just more
important than ever to be
proactive about the founda-
tion of the food chain that
supports all the species we
care about,” Weinstein said.
The council does not
want to see targeted fi sh-
ing on shortbelly rockfi sh
either. However, a prohibi-
tion takes work and would
require extensive analysis of
data, some of which is not
Keri Barber/NOAA Fisheries
Vessels in the Pacifi c whiting, or hake, fi shery snag other species in their nets, including,
occasionally, a chilipepper rockfi sh. Shortbelly rockfi sh, rarely seen in Oregon but abundant
in California, have also started showing up in whiting landings — frequently enough and in
large enough amounts to raise concerns.
‘SO THE QUESTION REALLY BECOMES ARE
WE PREPARED WITH OUR MANAGEMENT TO
LOSE SPECIES? ARE WE PREPARED WITH OUR
MANAGEMENT TO GAIN SPECIES? AND THE
ANSWER IS, ‘NOT YET,’ BUT WE’RE THINKING
REALLY HARD ABOUT IT.’
Caren Braby | marine program manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
readily available for short-
belly. There has not been a
stock assessment of the fi sh
since 2007.
“It seems like we should
just be able to say, ‘Thou
shalt not go out and target
shortbelly rockfi sh,’” said
Maggie Sommer, with the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife, and a Pacifi c
Fishery Management Coun-
cil member.
It’s not that easy. Fish-
ery managers need to be
clear about what they are
requiring and what they
are enforcing. They need
to understand how chang-
ing management for one
species might impact and
impede other fi sheries.
It isn’t clear yet why
shortbelly rockfi sh are
so abundant off the Ore-
gon Coast now — though
warmer ocean waters asso-
ciated with a marine heat
wave that began in 2015 are
likely a factor. What is obvi-
ous is that shortbelly rock-
fi sh have experienced sev-
eral very good reproductive
years and expanded north of
their historical range.
Caren Braby, the marine
program manager with
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife, has been
involved in council discus-
sions about various climate
change scenarios for West
Coast fi sheries.
With shortbelly, she sees
parallels to Oregon’s emerg-
ing market squid fi shery.
Landings of market
squid surged off Oregon
in the p ast fi ve years after
decades of being almost
nonexistent. Boats that fi sh
for the squid in the ani-
mals’ more typical range
off the California coast
have headed north to take
advantage of the boom.
The situation caught reg-
ulators off guard. Oregon
had no established quota
and no set season for mar-
ket squid. Suddenly, as
landings continued to come
in strong and the num-
ber of participating vessels
increased, fi shery managers
needed to discuss a whole
new suite of management
details.
As with shortbelly, there
are gaps in the data and
uncertainty about how new
management could impact
fi sheries or benefi t the ani-
mals in question.
Dilemma
It is the kind of dilemma
council members like Braby
expect to see more of under
climate change and it fur-
ther highlights the need to
be nimble and fl exible, she
said. With climate change
and shifting ocean condi-
tions, some species will
thrive and others will fail.
Many are expected to move
into new areas.
There is one really easy
question, Braby says: “Are
we going to see new species
emerge in our landings?”
“And the answer,” she
said, “is, ‘Certainly.’ This is
an example.”
“So the question really
becomes are we prepared
with our management to
lose species?” she added.
“Are we prepared with our
management to gain spe-
cies? And the answer is,
‘Not yet,’ but we’re thinking
really hard about it.”
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