-
9
I
F
EXHIBIT A
A
EXHIBIT
i.
p r x*::L
C)
r'.
2)
1
(
+-
'a
Staff Statement
Staff
Statement
For
16, 1984
1984 on
on
For Public
Public Hearing
Hearing Feb.
Feb. 16,
Sumer
Dungeness Crab
Crab Fishery
Fishery
Sumer Dungeness
&
J!~ ,-~&-p.-,
Problem
A
A recent
recent change
change in
in fishing
fishing effort.in
e f f o r t in the
the gunner
sumner part
part of
of the
t h e crab
crab season
season
has
i n increased
increased sorting
sorting and
and landing
landing of
of unfilled
unfilled crab
crab and
and much
much unrest
unrest
has resulted
resulted in
iin
n the
the industry.
industry.
Department
s t a f f believes
believes the
the handling
handling is
i s excessive
excessive and
and that
that
Department staff
modification of
of the
the season
season structure
structure should
should be
be considered
considered by
by the
the Commission.
Commission.
modification
Background
Three previous
previous hearings
hearings (6-18-82,
(6-18-82, 3-18-83,
3-18-83, 8-26-83)
8-26-83) considered
consideredthe
thesunnier
suner
Three
crab fishery.
fishery.
The specific
s p e c i f i c issues
issues were
were to
t o extend,
extend, shorten
shorten or
or set
s e t the
the fishing
fishing
season in
in the
the ocean.
ocean.
A petition
p e t i t i o n by
by fishermen
fishermen to
t o open
open the
the 1983-1984
1983-1984 season
season
early, was
early,
was denied
denied by
by the
the Connission.
Comnission.
Biology
Biology
The harvest
'The
harvest of
of unfilled
unfilled crab
crab during
during the
the suniner
sumer is
is basically
basically aa resource
resource
use rather
rather than
than aa biological
biological issue.
issue. When
When crab
crab shed
shed their
t h e i r shells
s h e l l s during
during June
June
ttoo AUgust
August they
they will
will not
not be
be ready
ready for
f o r harvest
harvest until
until December.
December.
However,
However, if
i f crab
crab
molt
during April
t o June
June some
some of
of them
them will
will be
be filled
f i l l e d and
and ready
ready for
for harvest
molt during
April to
harvest by
by
August
which has
has been
been the
the case
case for
for the
the past
past three
three years.
years. The
degree to
to which
which
August which
The degree
unfilled crab
crab can
can withstand
withstand handling
handling is
is moot.
moot. The
The single
single scientific
s c i e n t i f i c study
study
available
suggests 15%
15%mortality.
mortality.
available suggests
Fishermen views
Fishermen
views vary
vary from
from "near
"near zero"
zeron to
to
""almost
a l m s t all"
a l l " unfilled
unfilled crab
crab succumbing
succumbing from
from being
being handled.
handled.
The Fishery
Fishery
Prior to
t o 1977
1977 relatively
r e l a t i v e l y few
few boats
boats fished
fished for
f o r crab
crab after
a f t e r May
May 31
31 and
and those
those
Prior
tthat
h a t did
did averaged
averaged only
only three
three trips
t r i p s per
per month.
month. Since 1977
1977 fishing
fishing effort
e f f o r t has
has
and ini n 1982
1982and
and 1983
1983averaged
averaged 120
120 boats
boats which
which made
increased during tthe
h e sumner
increased
sumer and
ssix
i x ttrips
r i p s per
per month.
month.
Landings made
made after
a f t e r June
June In
i n 1982
1982 were
were 2,580,000
2,580,000 lbs
lbs and
and
-2-
882,000 lbs
lbs in
in 1983.
1983.
about 520,000
520,000 lbs.
lbs.
The average
average annual
annual catch
catch for
f o r the
the 1977-81
1977-81 period
period was
was
As aa percent
percent of
of the
the annual
annual catch
catch 1982
1982 and
and 83
83 were
were 29
29 and
and
As
22
as compared
o an
an average
average of
of 44 percent
percent for
f o r 1977-81.
1977-81.
22 as
compared tto
Observations
made at
a t sea
s e a in
in 1982
1982 and
and 1983
1983 during
d u r i n g Pugust
August and
and September
September
Observations made
showed
unfilled crab
crab being
being caught
caught of
of which
which only
only one
one in
i n 10
10 was
was kept.
kept. Even
showed unfilled
Even so,
so,
of
of "No. 1"
i.e. not
not of
1' grade.
grade.
of the
the crab
crab landed,
landed, 30-70
30-70 percent
percent was unfilled i.e.
In
In
some
ports there
there was
was also
also heavy
heavy sorting
sorting at
a t the
t h e dock
dock with
w i t h considerable
considerable "dead
"dead
some ports
loss"
crab thrown
thrown back
back into
loss" of
of crab
into the
the bays.
bays.
Sampling
a t sea
sea and
and comments
comnents from
Sampling at
from
fishermen
revealed that
t h a t most
most of
of the
the unfilled
unfilled crab
crab was
was caught
caught at
a t depths
depths deeper
fishermen revealed
deeper
than
20 fathoms.
fathoms.
than 20
Other states
states
California
and Washington
usually open
open at
a t the
the same
same time
time as
as Oregon
Oregon and
California and
Washington usually
and
Washington closes
closes the
the same
same time
time as
as Oregon
Oregon with
with some
some exceptions.
exceptions.
Washington
California
California
usually
usually closes
closes July
July 31.
31.
Industry
Industry Views
Views
Fishermen--A
recent survey
survey was
was done
done by
by the
t h e Oregon
Oregon Dungeness
Dungeness Crab
Crab
Fishermen--A recent
Commission to
t o obtain
obtain aa broader
broader opinion
opinion from
from fishermen
fishermen on
on crab
crab seasons.
seasons. O
f 376
376
Of
---
questionnaires sent
sent to
t o fishermen
fishermen
__
, 170 were
,
returned
returned (Table
(Table 1).
1).
A season
season that
that
would open
open December
December 1
land
June
Closing
and close
close
June 15
15 received
received most
most- favor
favor ([ 33%).
33%). Closing
-.
-/-
dates
dates of
of August
August 15;
15; August
August 15
15except
except closed
closedotitside
outside 15
15 fathom
fathom after
after June
June 15;
15;
------
and September
September 15
15 ran
ran close
close seconds
seconds
and
The two
two least
l e a s t popular
popular seasons
seasons by
by aa
- ((20%).
. 20%). The
-~
.
_----
---
wide margin
margin were
were aa flexible
f l e x i b l e season
season based
based on
on crab
crab condition
condition and
and aa year
year round
round
wide
open season.
season.
Fishermen rejected
rejected the
the option
option of
of altering
a l t e r i n g aa season
season once
once it
i t has
has
Fishermen
been set
s e t by
by aa nearly
nearly 3:1
3:l margin,
margin, and
and thought
thought crab
crab condition
condition was
was
poor--i n tb.e~_
been
poor_lp_tbt
.
. .
--r
.
~.
~
sunuier by
by aa 2:l
2:lcnargin.
sumner
margin.
- --.- The
The survey
survey also
also revealed
revealed that
t h a t the
the north
north coast
coast was
was
evenly split
evenly
s p l i t between
between aa year
year round
round season
season and
and one
one that
t h a t closed
closed September
September 15.
15.
Newport split
s p l i t between
between August
August 15
15 and
and September
September 15
15 closures
closures while
while Coos
Coos Bay
Bay was
Newport
was
-3-
evenly
evenly split
s p l i t between
between August
August 15
15 and
and June
June 15
15 closures.
closures.
Brookings showed
showed aa
Brookings
preference for
f o r aa June
June 15
15 closing.
closing.
preference
Dealers--Usually
fishermen's views
views have
have been
been heard
heard when
when crab
crab regulations
regulations
Dealers--Usually fishermen's
are considered,
u t dealers
dealers from
from one-man
one-man crab
crab stands
stands to
t o large
large processors
processors are
are
are
considered, b
but
also affected
affected by
by regulation
regulation changes.
changes.
also
Information presented
s aa sumnary
Information
presented here
here iis
sumary
compiled from
from the
the Crab
Crab Comission
Comnissionquestionnaire
questionnairearid
and staff's
s t a f f ' s contact
contact with
with
compiled
dealers.
dealers.
Crab dealers
dealers favored
favored aa fixed
fixed season,
season, not
not aa variable
variable season
season based
based on
on "in
"in
Crab
_
-.
-----
season1' crab
crab condition.
condition.
season"
~. ...
Twenty-five percent
percent wanted
wanted aa June
June closure.
closure.
Twenty-five
--~
~.
.
~~
-.2..-----
They
They varied,
varied, however,
however, on
on what
what season
season was
was best.
best.
~.~.,
~
~
~
~~~
~--
The
r e s t favored
favored aa closure
closure in
in
The rest
,
~
~~
~
~~~~
-
.-.
August
September with
with none
none of
of the
the dealers
dealers preferring
preferring aa year
year around
around open
open
August o
orr September
.~~
-~
~
~
~
.
~
.
~
.~
~
season.
season.
Our records
records show
show that
t h a t about
about 40
40 dealers
dealers handle
handle crab
crab during
during the
the June
June to
to
Our
September 15
15 period
period of
of whom
whom 30
30 were
were contacted
contacted by
by staff.
staff.
September
On
average 40%
40% of
of
On the
the average
t h e i r crab
crab landings
landings were
were made
made during
during the
t h e June
June to
t o September
September 15
15 period
period although
although
their
eight ofof them
the summer.
summer.
eigfft
them landed
landed more
more than
than 50%
50% durin,g
during the
Most obtain
obtain their
t h e i r crab
crab
Most
directly
d i r e c t l y from
from local
local boats,
boats, but
b u t some
some of
of the
the smaller
smaller dealers
dealers buy
buy from
from larger
larger
companies.
companies.
Some dealers
dealers obtain
obtain Dungeness
Dungeness crab
crab from
from California,
California, Washington,
Washington,
Some
and Alaska
Alaska and
and some
some deal
deal in
in other
other crab
crab including
including king,
king, tanner
tanner and
and box.
box.
and
handle crab
handle
crab taken
taken from
from Oregon
Oregon estuaries.
estuaries.
Few
Smaller
dealers who
Smaller dealers
who dealt
dealt mostly
mostly
with crab
crab were
were opposed
opposed to
t o aa sunrner
summer closure
with
closure while
while the
the large,
large, more
more diversified
diversified
companies
favored aa sumner
sumer closure.
companies favored
closure.
Discussion and
and Management Qptions
Options
The problems
problems facing
facing the
the crab
crab industry
industry are
are not
not new,
new, but
but the
the timing
timing and
and
The
magnitude are.
are.
The
rapid buildup
buildupof
The central
central issue
issue is
i s aa rapid
of fishing
fishing effort
e f f o r t late
date in
in
the season
season when
when aa large
large portion
portion of
of the
t h e legal
legal crab
crab In
i n the
the ocean
ocean are
are unfilled.
unfilled.
the
This
T h i s results
r e s u l t s in
i n intensive
intensive sorting
sorting at
a t sea,
sea, unknown
unknown mortalities
mortalities from
from handling,
handling,
an
lower prices
prices ttoo fishermen
fishermen and
and processors,
processors, and
and an
dead loss
loss at
a t the dock,
dock, lower
dnferior product
product for
f o r consumers.
consumers.
inferior
-4-4Management
of the
the crab
crab resource
resource as
as per
per ORS
ORS 506.109
506.109 is
is for
for "---the
*---the present
present
Management of
and
future generations
generations of
of the
the citizens
citizens of
of this
t h i s State".
state..
and future
Industry's
as
Industry's view
view as
summarizedabove
abovereflects
r e f l e c t s their
t h e i r interests,
i n t e r e s t s , but
b u t must
must be
be heard
heard since
since access
access tto
o
sumarized
the
resource for
f o r most
most of
of the
the public
public is
is through
through the
the industry.
industry.
the resource
Getting
Getting greatest
greatest
is of
of primary
primary concern.
concern.
yield and
and best
best access,
access, aa general
general public
public interest,
i n t e r e s t , is
yield
To the
t h e above
above end
end aa season
season that
t h a t balances
balances losses
losses due
due to
to handling
handling of
of crab
crab
To
and
and gains
gains from
from summer
summer harvest
harvest (public
(public access)
access) is
i s needed.
needed.
Closing the
the crab
crab
Closing
will permit
permit aa high
high level
level of
of harvest
harvest of
of the
the
season near
near the
the end
end of
of spring
spring will
season
resource and
and do
do so
so when
when the
t h e yield
yield per
per crab
crab is
is high
high and
and sorting
sorting at
a t sea
sea is
i s low.
low.
resource
Maximum yield
yield would
would result.
result.
Maximum
However,
However, doing
doing so
so would
would remove
remve aa logical
logical source
source
of supply
supply for
f o r the
the sunviier
sumer crab
h a t includes
of
crab market
market tthat
includes the
the peak
peak months
months of
of the
the
ttourist
o u r i s t season.
season.
The degree
degree that
that the
the demand
demand for
f o r fresh
fresh crab
crab can
can be
be satisfied
s a t i s f i e d by
by
The
frozen,
frozen, estuary
estuary caught
caught or
or imported
imported crab
crab is
i s uncertain.
uncertain.
While the
the benefits
benefits of
of aa summer
summer fishery
f i s h e r y are
are difficult
d i f f i c u l t to
t o measure
measure the
the price
price
While
paid in
i n lost
l o s t pounds
pounds of
of crab
crab for
f o r delaying
delaying closure
closure can
can be
be estimated.
estimated.
paid
Using
a
Using a
9-1 discard
discard to
t o retension
retension ratio,
r a t i o , aa 15%
15%mdrtality
mdrtality on
on crab
crab handled
handled and
and released
released
9-1
and an
an 80%
80%level
level of
of filling
f i l l i n g out
out 1.9
l , 9 oof
f aa pound
pound of
of potential
potential crab
crab meat
is lost
lost
and
meat is
for
f o r each
each pound
pound of
of crab
crab meat
meat landed
landed during
duringthe
thesunnier
sumner months.
months.
Applying this
t h i s to
to
t h e 1982-83
1982-83 and
and 1983-84
1983-84 (estimated)
(estimated) crab
crab landings
landings about
about 1,300,000
1,300,000 lbs
lbs of
of meat
meat
the
yield
was lost
l o s t between
between the
the 22 years.
years.
yield was
in
That would
would have
have increased
increased landings
landings in
those years
years by
by 70%
70%and
and 30%
30%respectively.
respectively.
those
Several options
options for
f o r managing
managingthe
thesurrrner
sumner crab
been aired
aired and
and
Several
crab fishery
fishery have
have been
are
offered below.
below.
are offered
They are
are identified
identified by
by the
the closing
closing date
date only
only since
since the
the
They
Dec.
1 opening
date is
i s not
not under
under discussion.
discussion.
Dec. 1
opening date
Option
1. Close
Option 1.
September 15
15 (Status
(Status quo).
quo).
Close September
This option
is favored
favored by
by
This
option is
some people
people especially
especially on
on the
t h e north
north coast
coast and
and by
by aa number
number of
of small
small boat
boat
I
-5-
8
fishermen.
fishermen.
However,
However, contrary
contrary to
t o views
views expressed
expressed at
a t previous
previous hearings
hearings only
only
about one-half
of Astoria
Astoria crabbers
crabbers favor
favor this
t h i s option.
option.
about
one-half of
Coastwide, the
the majority
majority
Coastwide,
of fishermen
fishermen do
do not.favor
not favor this
t h i s option
option without
without some
some provision
provision to
t o keep
keep unfilled
unfilled
of
crab
crab from
from being
being landed.
landed.
Choice
t h i s option
could be
be conditioned
conditioned by
by scheduling
scheduling aa Commission
Commission
Choice of
of this
option could
review in
in early
early August
August of
of the
t h e season's
season's character,
character, past
past and
and projected.
~rojected.
review
Option
Option 2.
2.
Close June
June 15.
15.
Close
This option
h e most
e f f e c t i v e in
in
This
option would
would be
be tthe
most effective
reducing the
the summer
summer effort
e f f o r t and
and thus
thus the
the take
take of
of unfilled
unfilled crab.
crab.
reducing
I t would
have
It
would have
the most
most adverse
adverse impacts
impacts on
on the
the small
small boat
boat crabber
crabber and
and the
the smaller
smaller dealers
dealers who
who
the
cater
c a t e r mostly
mostly to
t o tourists.
tourists.
However, some
some local
local crab
crab from
from Oregon
Oregon estuaries
estuaries may
may
However,
be
be available
available along
along with
with frozen
frozen crab
crab from
from Alaska.
Alaska.
Option
Option 3.
3.
Close June
June 15
15 outside
outside
-- and
and Septçmber
September 15
15 inside
inside 15
15 fathoms.
fathoms.
Close
This option
option would
would have
have less
l e s s impact
impact on
on industry
industry yet
yet should
should protect
protect the
the bulk
bulk of
of
This
the unfilled
unfilled crab
crab most
most of
of which
which was
was caught
caught outside
outside 20
20 fathoms.
fathoms.
the
This option
option
This
would allow
allow aa few
few fishermen
fishermen to
t o move
move gear
gear inside
inside 15
15 fathoms
fathoms and
and fish
f i s h until
until the
the
would
scheduled
scheduled closing
closing date
date September
September 15.
15.
The greatly
greatly reduced
reduced fishing
fishing area
area should
should
The
keep latecomers
latecomers from
from re-entering
re-entering the
the fishery,
fishery, and
and effort
e f f o r t at
a t aa relatively
r e l a t i v e l y low
low
keep
level.
level.
Conflict for
f o r space
space within
within the
the crab
crab fishery
fishery and
and perhaps
perhaps other
other fisheries
fisheries
Conflict
is
i s probable.
probable.
The staff
s t a f f feels
f e e l s that
t h a t retension
retension of
of aa summer
summer ocean
ocean crab
crab fishery
f i s h e r y is
is
The
desirable but
b u t the
the high
high cost
cost in
i n lost
l o s t yield
yield requires
requires keeping
keeping the
the harvest
harvest level
level
desirable
low.
low.
This will
will supply
supply some
some crab
crab for
for summer
sumner markets
markets and
and aa modest
modest fishery
fishery for
for
This
those
those fishermen
fishermen who
who rely
r e l y on
on aa summer
sumner fishery.
fishery.
While crab
crab prices
prices are
are higher
higher by
by
While
up to
t o 50%
50% in
i n the,
the. sumner
not
up
summer over
over the
the following
following December
December the
the difference
difference will
will not
offset
i n pounds.
pounds.
o f f s e t the
the estimated
estimated loss
l o s s of
of yield
yield in
Restricting the
the fishery
f i s h e r y to
to
Restricting
inside 15
15 fathoms
fathoms during
during the
the summer
sumner months
m n t h s with
with Sept.
Sept. 15
15 retained
retained as
as the
the
inside
closing date
date should
should Improve
improve the
t h e character
character of
of it.
it.
closing
-6-
Recommendation
Reccnnmendation
The staff
15 fathoms
fathoms
staff recommends that
that the
the season
season close
close on
on June
June 15
15 outside
outside of
of 15
~ e p t e m b e r15
15 inside
inside 15
15 fathoms.
fathoms.
and on
on September
and