Columbia River Crab Fisherman’s Association
P.O. Box 461 Ilwaco, WA 98624 – 360-642-3942
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…Serving the needs of the coastal crab fishing industry and coastal fishing communities…
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CRCFA Commissioners:
Dale Beasley, President
PO Box 461
Ilwaco, WA 98624
Phone & Fax
(360) 642-3942
(360) 244-0096 cell
crabby@willapabay.org
Ed Bittner
6810 V-Place
Long Beach, WA 98631
(360) 642-2656
ebittner@centurytel.nt
Chris Doumit (alternate)
PO Box 342
Cathlamet, WA 98612
(360) 795-0601
doumitmarine@centurytel.net
Dwight Eager
PO Box 141
Chinook, WA 98614
(360) 777-8727
deager@centurytel.net
John Edwards (alternate)
PO Box
Chinook, WA 98614
(360) 777johne2000@yahoo.com
Rob Greenfield
PO Box 84
Chinook, WA 98614
(360) 777-8242
rtg327@hotmail.com
John Hanson (alternate)
PO Box
Chinook, WA 98614
(369) 777-8447
tbufish@live.com
Don Jester
PO Box 860
Rodchester, WA 98579
(360) 269-4906
oceanballad@gmail.com
Bill Rhodes
PO Box 2215
Gearhart, OR 97138
(503) 717-1068
crabber@pacifier.com
Kerry Suomela
PO Box 522
Ilwaco, WA 98624
(360) 642-3589
socross@willapabay.org
Will Taylor (alternate)
PO Box 40
Ilwaco, WA 98624
(360) 642-3180
wilco@willapabay.org
Doug Westerlund (alternate)
128 Skyline Drive
Astoria, OR 97103
(503) 325-1358
dougann378@msn.com
LCSG Participants:
CRCFA is participating in this New Nearshore Scientific Dredge Disposal Experiment to Protect
and Preserve Existing Crab Industry Sustainable Fishery to ameliorate detrimental effects of
potential life safety of the fishermen from excessive mound induced wave amplification and
mortality of highly susceptible softshelled crab which dramatically affect the coastal
communities’ economic viability. The collaborative effort to this end is greatly appreciated.
We would like to thank all our friends in this endeavor that have spent considerable time, effort,
and dollars to help design the best science available to answer two fundamental questions very
important to the coast.
1) How high a dredge disposal mound is too high for both navigational and fishing safety
to remain within the 10% maximum wave amplification accepted guideline. To date we still do
not have a bathymetric grid verse mound height that equals the 10% guideline at various ocean
depths.
2) How thin is thin enough and can the USACE dredge Essayons deliver through
enhanced dumping techniques thin enough dredge disposal layer for crab to survive and achieve
entry into the crab fishery later in the year.
In the past human health and safety and survival of the small vessel navigator has consumed our
primary focus while crab survival has been put on the back burner for almost a decade; a decade
in which the coastal fishing community has highly subsidized channel maintenance at the SWS
“least cost disposal” with excessive crab mortality cutting into the coastal communities economic
viability. We have accepted this loss for the larger community always with an eye to getting
future adjustments which are slowing gaining momentum.
For the first 5 years of the expanded Shallow Water Site there was a successful biologic window
closure in place to protect excessive mortality of vulnerable softshelled crab that closed and
prevented excessive crab mortality after August 15th of each dredge season. If this nearshore
experiment is successful and 600,000 cy or more can be delivered to the nearshore environment
without harm to the nearshore areas through enhanced dumping techniques we will have
accomplished a win, win result as deep water disposal is reduced or eliminated beginning the first
step to addressing coastal erosion and jetty integrity as direct benefits.
In the interim decade coastal sediment starvation has begun to manifest itself with a reversal of
accretion on the coast to considerable erosion affects as a result of coastal sediment starvation.
The crab fleet has not turned a blind eye to this negative sediment balance and has attempted to
put positive beneficial alternatives in place to address ill effects of taming the Columbia that are
cost effective if we could find assurance that the two fundamental issues of safety and crab
mortality were successfully addressed. The fishing fleet has agreed to live with the science that
is field tested and looks for the TRUTH realizing that this may take some time, and may require
many false starts, as all newly developing science requires extreme patience and time to get
advanced far enough to get reliable and repeatable results that can pass peer review that exposes
the anomalies that require adaptive management to overcome. Adaptive management has been
plentiful this summer.
As you all know the fishing fleet does not take easily to losing additional prime fishing grounds to the dredge disposal. This
last week we experienced a HUGE disappointment after months of never ending dead ends to getting the EPA dive team
terminated that eliminated the one thing missing from this move to nearshore disposal – direct ruler measurements of actual
dredge disposal events that once and for all would have dramatically helped answered the question of “How thin is thin
enough”.
The loss of the EPA dive team setback will be difficult to overcome. We also realized from the beginning that the dive team
weather and tidal window was extremely limited and may or may not have actually been successful at getting adequate
number of ruler measurements to give us a definitive answer to the thinness question so we began exploring other
alternatives a while back with a dedicated NOAA team that is committed to this project. We anticipated getting a prototype
robotic measuring alternative device functional while the dive team was here to enhance our investigative techniques. The
one outstanding question of how deep the actual enhanced material dumping occurs compounded the prototype development
and still does. Deployment, burial, and recover of remote equipment unharmed is more difficult and challenging than it may
seem. The NOAA technical team has developed a functional prototype that in initial tests lands on the bottom in the proper
upright position, a hurdle that was necessary to accomplish. Great.
Patience will be required to fully develop this technique in actual ocean dumping conditions to a reliable and repeatable
device that can be successfully deployed, retrieved, download recorded disposal depths, and redeployed time and time again.
The potential to get real time continuous monitoring capability will exceed diver capabilities and will only be limited by
vessel time and availability and can be utilized at any dredge site under varying conditions that exceed diver capabilities
extending our ability to begin getting at the TRUTH of the matter of how thin is thin enough disposal to be deliver a NO
HARM BENEFICAL SOLUTION.
CRCFA is encouraged by creative minds willing to continue to look for answers in the face of considerable adversity and
disappointment in loss of not only the EPA dive team but critical time this summer at the height of the crab molt.
Losing critical scientific exploration time at the height of the crab molt this summer has set back resolution of basic questions
and biologic baseline investigations but we still have time to hone techniques for the future and begin to gather the
information that will lead to informed decision making about the move to nearshore disposal and the USACE continues to
adapt with changing demands.
The video sled is an inspiring design that the Hammond NOAA team is developing and has promise beyond other designs
currently in use on the coast. We look forward to helping develop its capability into a very useful scientific tool with
potential to work on other Coastal Marine Spatial Planning investigations in the future. We are entering a new era in
geologic history called the Anthropocene where human activity is strongly influencing every square inch of our earth. All of
us must always consider and be cognizant to reduce CONFLICT and find NO HARM SOLUTIONS moving forward. This
new dredge disposal use of the ocean is no exception and it can be successful if we do not run out of patience and continue to
move forward with this in mind.
No one believed that this nearshore endeavor would be easy. The challenges have been substantial and many unanticipated
twists have presented themselves. The collaborative effort by all involved has helped dramatically to overcome multiple
adversities and get over hurdle after hurdle speaks to the resiliency of the LCSG technical and management teams ability to
adaptively adjust to changing conditions and demands; in this latest twist exceptionally quickly.
Jim Owens facilitating ability has played a key role in keeping this nearshore effort glued together and moving in a positive
direction that addresses the needs of all concerned parties. His role at finding compromises everyone can live with has
proven exceptional. Without his expertise who know where we would be, but one thing is certain, that place would be
embroiled in excessive turmoil instead of just a number of bumps in the road successfully navigated.
We all still have a long way to go. We will face additional adversity. Adaptive change will be required. The science will
need honing to be the best it can be within the budget restraints. Additional funding will be required which we need to be
finding. Lack of dollar availability may be a further hurdle delaying this endeavor.
At this time we need to go slow and deliberate making positive advancements incrementally and above all else be patient
with the snail’s pace of the project and not attempt to outpace what little time left this season. We have to scale back our
objectives and hold some over to the future year adjusting our expectations to future events that are more timely; simply
playing the cards we have been dealt; making the best out of a difficult year.
CRCFA would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued patience to achieving forward looking
compatible solutions that developing science can help answer questions in a changing world in which we all live together
producing positive results for the future addressing coastal needs through NO HARM BENEFICIAL SOLUTIONS that
Protect and preserve existing use. Again thank you,
Dale Beasley, Columbia River Crab Fisherman’s Association