Hello Fishies!
To paraphrase an old song – the 13 miles is what was given to dungeness crabbers. That is the 13 southernmost miles of Washington State’s 140 miles of coastline. Thanks can be given to the negotiations between the state and the Quinault Indian Nation. The 13 miles are from the Washington-Oregon border north to Klipsan Beach, along the Long Beach Peninsula, as well as Willapa Bay. The Oregon and California coasts will be completely open.
Once the rest of the coast is open to the non-tribal fleet, those fishermen who crabbed the 13 miles that open on Dec. 1, will be able to fish an additional five miles up to Oysterville 10 days after the start date. They will have to then wait an additional 30 days to fish the rest of the coast. Washington crabbers who use permits to crab in Oregon and California will also have to wait those additional days.
The agreement that was finally reached, calls for a 40 day head start for the tribe, which was December 1. This will put the start date for non-tribal fishermen at about January 10, nearly 6 weeks after our traditional opening date and long past the Christmas and New Year market. Gee, maybe we will be able to get you folks crab for your Super Bowl parties.
According to Ray Toste, president of the Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association, Westport crabbers had “no voice” in the process of starting the season, and said the issues were the most complex he’s seen in 40 years spent crabbing. Toste is a fishermen who lives in Westport.
“In the last 3 or 4 years, the whole coast - or major portions of the northern coast - were closed because of quality issues. But this is the first time that crab were ready to go when the season opened, and it was the first time the state had to directly deal with the tribal problem. It’s got the entire fishing industry in disarray. This is a real mess.”
Crab fishermen are more than a little frustrated with the way the season is being laid out by the state Department of Fish & Wildlife.
According to Heather Reed, from the State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, “There are two main management tools that the state uses to ensure the non-tribal and tribal fleets each get 50 percent of the harvest. One is the length of the head start the tribal fleet gets. The other is the amount of time “special management areas” are closed to the non-tribal fleet. Both of those issues were being negotiated.
"Once a start date is confirmed for the tribal fleet, the tribes will be able to fish in their “usual and accustomed areas” and make use of their head start. The Quinault Nation’s area is from Point Chehalis at Westport, north to Destruction Island.
"The state’s objective is to put these management tools in place to provide the tribal fleet with the opportunity to harvest 50 percent. The state has already reached an agreement with the Quileute and Makah tribes."
The state Department of Fish & Wildlife sent a letter to coastal Dungeness crab fisherman on Nov. 22, and in it the department estimates that the coastline from Klipsan Beach to the U.S.-Canada border will be open to the non-tribal fleet between Jan. 1-15, at least a month later than the traditional opening date and after the lucrative holiday market. The start date in this stretch will be finalized once the Quinault and Makah tribes complete their head start.
The stretch from Destruction Island to Sand Point will open on Jan. 16 according to the state’s agreement with the Quileute tribe.
Non-Indian, non-tribal, non-treaty = non-fisherman.
Stay tuned.
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