tn! 3,f71 bReport ligJi !TUs.r" ! rsl,! u:"s_re"L_o_L!_: lip-$ ur:l IIn n late l a t e April f i p r i l(4/29) s t a f f report r e p o r tnn ,n n the t h e use u s n of o f helicopters h e l i c o p t e r sin { 4 / ? }.1977, ) . t g l l , 0 staff in . O r e g o n ' sccommercial o n l n e r c ' i a*crab l' a b rfishery i s h e r ywas r v a sgiven g i v c nto Oregon's t othe t h Commission. e C o r r u t i i s ; s j oThe Tnh. e0 r e g o nSState Police Oregon t a t e Police h a d cclosed l c l s e ddown d o w ntthe p e r a t i o on no nMarch h e ooperition l4arch had 21 2 l as a s a violation v i i : I a t i o r rof o f the t h eadministrative a d n j n i s t r a c i v erule rule ((625-10-165(2)) 6 2 5 - 1 0 - i 6 5 ( ? )w ) h i c hnmandated r a n t j a t ' ie. crunlegal itt t e g actcrabs u s Lb e which ber creleased r a b s mmust l r : a i e d" i'imndiately" m n e d i a t e l y "and a n dn ot not 'laLe b r o u E f trto ) t h eCommission brough o the t h edock. c j o c k . In i r r late March l r l a r c(28) l (r 2 E the C o n n r i s s i ulearned lne a r n c dooff the r n a t t eand ra n d l h ematter o r d e r e dfal th re e -l ve e keevaluation ioci and va l u a ti o n per pr .oblemby sbystaff. ordered three-week period andstudy studyof of alleged staff. a' llegeclproblems P r o b i e m scclaimed la i me clbby y bboat o a t fifishermen sh e rr nenwer Problems were that the e that the resource r esour cewas wasdamaged by clamaged bylo loss s s of s m a i l ccrab r a b {(falling s e n r o u t to o u of t o pats f p o t enroute et othe small t h ebeach), b e a c h )wind ,w i n dblast b l a s tand { ' a l f i n gout a n chelicopter Jh e l i c o p t e r s p e e dcdesiccation l e s j c c a t i o ntto o subleqal s u b J e g , crabs, rcl r a l : s and speed , a n t sublegal/female i s u b i e g a l / f e r r a lcrab cen o bmortality m o r t a ] i t ycaused caused b y tbeing r e in g oout i :f water u t, of w a i e r during per iodashore. cl u rjn g the by s,,r r tjngperiod th e sorting ashor e S t a f f observed o b s e r v e dthe t h e operation o p e r a t i o nini nCurry Staff C u r rCounty y C o u n t(OSP y( 0 S Pa also) l s o ) during d u r i n gthe t h e3-week 3-week p e r i o d ,conducted c o n d u ctesome dso meeexperiments, xp e ri n e,nts,an.d - oncluded and rconcluded period, that the operation that oper at.ionwas wasnot n ot hartnful l r annful tto o the t h eresource. r e s o u r , : e . !We r;'a ealso l s o cconcluded o n c l i l d e dt hthe e o poperation e l a t ' i o rw r ias a s f efeasible a s i b l e oonly n l ' i iiff crabs c r a b scould could b e bbrought r o u g i i taashore s h o r ' cffor o r sorting s u r t i n g of She o f sublegal s u b l e g a or lo r female f e l n a i ecrabs. i t o s s i b l renforcement r€ n f o r c e m e n t i : r a b s " Possibb p robleme sexisted r o b l e ; n dsdid problems xisted, b r r l such s u c np j . l nnot o t in but problems i n fact f a c tdevelop d e v e l , rduring p , i u r i n1977. t 1 9 7 7 . We 1^lt rrecommended, e c o n l i : e n d e d among , a m o n gother o t h ethings, r t n i n g sthat , r h warding a i w l r d j nof g nour' f o uOiRs r 0 A Rbe . 5 bchanged t t c h a n t tto e dallow toa11ow the the o operation. p e r "a tj o n . The T h e Commission [o n i ra j ssi cln did so, cJ' icl so, with wit.hthe the n,oviso r : pr eient oviso lhal: thattlrthe present and(anir fur ti r p14O l n.o ' -*--'l- o p e r d t ' j o nbe s b cbyb yaa permit p e r i n i tissued j s s u e dto t o eeach r c | i hhelicopter e 1 i c o p i . e rcrabber. c r a b b . r . rThe " T h ebsic i : . r s iregulation cregu1atjon operations cchange h d n t j et ^was r a st hthat a t a lall ' i uuniawful r r i a l f u l ccrab e rreturned e ' " u r n e dLto o i n t of r a b bbe water o tthe a t e r aat he w t ppoint o f capture within c a p t u r ewithin i n s i e " d coff "immediate1y). r i n u L e s((instead 1 5 rminutes 15 "irrrrnedje.tely"). T h e Commission C o m m i s s i orequested i v e n t 0to i it The an rn equested o n iinformation a n update u p d a t eon n f o r n i a t i o rgrgiven t in i n April A p r i l1977. L977. f o l l o w i n g summarizes T h efollowing s u n r n r a r i . events reevse n t ssince The s i n c ethat l h a t time. tirne. 1. t. t,hS-f::r.U-tf_ The fisr' 0 n 1 yone o n e additional a d d i t i o n a l crabber c r a L r b ecame Only a f c e r April cr a r ninto ei n L o the L h e1977 f i s h e r y afLer i 9 7 7fishery A p r i l 29. 2g, l1c:;srsD . a , . ra$and o t s in r t dDDan i c h a r d sf i sfished a nR Richards h e d a af efew Messrs. Dave v r56-foot - f c o t ddiam. i a n r .ppots i n Curry Curry W C o i r n i y ,tmostly l l s s t l yoon i l r : t basis. County, r r ,an i r reexperimental x p e r i m e n t aplpilot l { e s s r sMathews .l 4 a t h e w s T h e yand . a nMessrs. d l i a s i s . They a n c lLewis -e w i sl landed ;i rrrj o cl ir r d:; l eless ss than i:fofci"att i i 29. and than 10,ii00 10,000por pounds crabafafter April ter Apr 29. The l 'he bulk bul k h ehelicopter of a f Lhe bl y then, ini r1977 h e li c o p r Lcatch ecr a t c h i 1 9 ,was / lw a made s m a d ,by then" -2-2iIn n all, a l l ,then, t h e none , one h e l i c o p i "and e ra n rabout ia i : o u 40 l4 0 traps helicopter t r a i l s were u r e r euutilized t i l i z e d . prior prior W tto o April A p ri l 29; 2 9two ; tt. helicopters f',*ti c opterand sandabout ab*ut60 6u traps tr aps were i+ er eused useclbetween betweenthen then a n clthe S e p te mb e15 and th e September 1r 5 ocean oceancrabbing cr abbingclosure. closur e. All All catches catcheswere wer emade m adeiin n : i C u rry CoUnty C o u n tybbetween e l ;u re et,he ntheSixes Curry SixesRiver Riverand andPistol Pistol River. River . No c er nnt, , l ',, No enfor enforcement lv.te r J P f F r re A r r l i lu t o ni rter orl p ro hi e ni t tswere enna ' rco ed. problems encountered. I n the t h ecurrent. c u r t ' e tocean t to c e acrab bs e ; : s o which nr : r aseason, nw , h i c opened In ho $ e n e dDecember D e c e m b e1r1, , oonly n l y .one o n eooperator, perator, ' lnr ee lMr. v l r .Bob l a L h e w s,hhas B o biMathews, a s bbeen e e na active to date. cL j ve to ciale. Three other ( or r emore r nor ethan than in i n1976-77) otherss (one Lg76- 71) t ' nterest h a v ee x p r e s s e d' i interest have p r o b a b ' l yffish. aand n t lvwill r jl l probably expressed i s h . One O n eoof f tthe o u r iintends h e ffour n t e n d s tto ish o ffish .... i n Clatsop C l a t s o pCounty; C o r l n t y ;tthe in l r e rest r e s t ini r rCurry C u m County. y C o u n [ , r .All A l l have h a v ebeen 5 e e nhighly h i g h l ycooperative. c e o p e r a t i v e . We ]rfe' h a v enno o eestimdte s t i r y r a toe1 h e ccatch . , i r tffishing have of' t the e t c h t to o rdate, j a t e , ibut i i , h i n g has h a s rreportedly e p o r t e d l ybeen good. L i e e nffairly a i r l y good. However, the active operation ceaedlast week when the helicopter ; e rused u s e dcrashed crashed l n t o the t h e ocean; i i o t , Mr. o c e a n ;tthe h e ppilot, f ' 1 rHarry .. l a r r y Diack, into D i a c k , iis s in i n serious s e r i o u scondition c o n d i t i o nata tthe the Coos C o oBay s.Bay. ; '. hospital. T h ehhelicopter e l i c o p t e r is p r o b a b i ya total hospital. i s probably The t o t a l loss, l o s sand , and h a d not had n o t been b e e nfound f o u n dby byi : r j j v e n sat a t ]last a s t rreport. e 5 l o r t . I n In p u pulling 1.l.inga r a b ppot, o t , t hthe e b rhouy r u y l i line n e r ereportedly p o r t e d 1 y ssnapped, napped, divers accrab a n d uunder n d e rttension, e t t s i o n , rrebounded e l r i : u n d ei d and ninto t o tthe h e hhelicopter e l i c o p t e r rotor, r o l . p i " cusing ,c . i 1 l s i nit g 'to i tt ocrash intc c r a s hinto t l t e ocean o c e a nnear n e a r shore. the si ro re , 2. Furthereprs Fur.thsrr-.expe-iljlen.!_s 2. : One potential source of crab mortality was not closely :losely checked clr eckedlast las t spring. s pr l ng'.' T his w otential e a s t the h e ppotential f f e c t of o fcrabs This was effect c r a b sbeing b e i n gflown f l o w n at l u s the a t 40-50 4 0 * 5 0mph m p hpplus the e ffe ct of o f rotor effect ro i o r " b blast' downward on l a st",lownwar cl onthem. them . hledid an experiment exper im ent We did an ininNovember N ov er nher 1 9 7 7t o u a n t i f y this etter q 1977 to bbetter quantify p o t e n r i aproblem. i p r c b l e m , Voluntary t h j spotential v o l u n t a r yhelp h e l pfrom from *-'J l'"''"-''i- ' iMr. ' lr. Bob l l o b lMathews '4 a th e rvs us tr traps) apil and anclMr. ( offer eduse l' 1r .BobJarvis {l(loaned o a n ed us BobJay,vjs(offered use of his hi s : h eI i c o p t e rand p o t s and a n c also Ja l s o pots i I s t )made a n c lp helicopter pilot) m a c ethis r h i s experiment e x p e r i m e np t c s s i L r l e . AA possible. c cri i p l e terereport p o rt wwill i l l be b e avai complete available l able in i n the lhe near ffuture. utune. ' c r a b sw Crabs e r ecaught were c a u E h tin i n Yaquina Y a q u i r rB a a y , flown f l o w nat with a t speeds s p e e d sof Bay, o f 60-80 6 0 - 8 0mph r n p h((with e t powered a Hughes H l g h e s55-place - p l a c e tturbo p o w e r e machine) cr nj a c h i n effor u r b o jjet )o r 5-7 5 - 7minutes. m i n u t e s . They T h e ywere were n laboratory l a c e d jin t h e n pplaced l a b o r a t o r yaquaria then a q u a r i afor f o r observation. o b s e r v a t i o n . A control c o n t r o group l g r o u pwere were a i s o caught c a u g h t in jnY a q u i n a Bay, B a y , fflown i c l w t limmediately i m r n e d i a t e 1toy tthe o t hlaboratory e 1 a b o r a t oat r y less atless also Yaquina o u t ooff water t h a n 40 4 0 rmph n p h((out w a t e rabout a b o u t1l minute) p l a c e din r n j n u t e and )a n dalso than a l s o placed i nthe t h eaquarium. aquariurn. .{1" -3-3per e kept C o n tt" oand la n cle xp q ,rj n rental Control exprimental crabs cr abswere kept in ip separate sepayateaquaria; aquar ia; softshell sof ts hel l and and h a rd sh e l l crabs gr oupwere hardshell cra b s in i n each e a chgroup wer ealso also kept kept separate. separ ate. The Theexperimental expe r i m ental g ro u pw a s subjected su b j e cte dto ro speeds speedsand anr jtime tinr e out group was out of water water much m uchhigher higher and a nd l o n g e r than t h a n would w o u l Cexist e x i s t in i n the longer t h e actual a c r - u afishery. fl i s h e r y . ;i, N o significant s i g n i f i c a n t statistical statistical No d i f f e r e n c ein i n short s h r r t ' or to r long l o n gterm difference t e r n imortality m o r t a l i t y occurred g r o u p sor o c c u r r e dbetween between or groups L re Lween h a rd sh eIl vs vs softshell between hardshelJ soft,shelI crabs. cr abs, Total mortalities m or tali ti es were wer e4.6% 4.6%among am ong Total zz9 ? ,l group;10.3% the control control group; i0.3%in in the groupin the experimental experjmental group peri9.d.j,; in the the m-day -day test test period. ': a s not n o t statistically T h ' i sn s t a t i s t i c a l l y aa significant This was s i g n i f i c a n t difference. difference.' A l t h o u g hwe. t ,feel f, el ee l Although ::- , ' th t h l experiment 6 ' ' p o p i n e nshould st h o u ' l dbe b e repeated r e p e a t e dunder u n d e rcold-weather c o ' l d - w e < r t hconditions, ceorn" t l i t i o n s ,iit t a p l r e a r sthat t h a t windblast r t i r r d b l a sunder tu n d e raverage appears ldte dverage late f a l l weather w e a t h edoes r o e s not fall d n o t have h a v eaa ssignificant i g n j f i c a n t effect e f f e c t on crabs. S o n crabs. ome o f the Some of t h e mortalities m o r t a l i t i e s observed observed have. could c o u l dhave b e e ncaused been c a u s e dby b y crowding, i g h t i n g , and c r o w d i n g ,ffighting, a n d other o t h e r artificial a r t i f i c i a j conditions c o n d i t i o n sin i n lab 1ab, "' . '. : : , a q u a ria , rather ra th e r than a ny helicopter-induced th a n any aquaria, factor. heli copter ,-nduced i factor . ODFl^, ODFW M a r i n eRegion Region Marine Decemb.er December 13, 13, 1977 1977