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| IS NSAT MISSING THE BOAT? 3/5/2008 IS NSAT MISSING THE BOAT? Depoe Bay’s Near Shore Action Team (NSAT) may have received its best news in its two-year existence when word came from Salem that marine reserves in Oregon may be dead on arrival due to lack of funding.
When marine reserve plans heated up in 2005 after lying dormant since Gov. Kitzhaber’s day, the governor’s Ocean Policy Advisory council (OPAC) has made the nomination process for the reserves their main priority. NSAT was created by the City of Depoe Bay to be proactive in the nomination process. However, by plunging headfirst into the process Depoe Bay is one of two fishing ports in the state (Port Orford is the other) to offer to become sacrificial lambs to the marine reserve plan. NSAT virtually assured the creation of a reserve in the area by agreeing to nominate a location. And their selection in tiny (700 + acres approximately), shallow and gets little use by Depoe Bay or Newport. They got a taste of their near future at NSAT’s Jan. 29 special meeting when correspondence from Fran Recht that was read into the record dropped a ticking bomb into their laps. Ms. Recht cites concerns that the proposed Otter Rock reserve is too small, too close to shore, subject to pollution and not biodiverse enough. She proposed extending the reserve out three miles, or, better yet, a reserve from Miroco to the Cape Foulweather headland and out three miles. And that’s just the first shot across the bow. Lincoln City, with nothing at stake, would love to see a reserve off of their shore, prime fishing grounds for the Depoe Bay fleet. But what else should NSAT be doing? There was a proposal by staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) to reduce the catch by 23 – 25% in each of the next two years. NSAT sent no one to the Portland IPHC meeting to protest this outrage. Fortunately, every other port in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and SE Alaska was there to speak against the proposal. With high economic stakes on the table, Depoe Bay was missing in action. And NSAT’s premise that the harbor is the economic engine that drives Depoe Bay is nonsense. There are 17 charter boats in the harbor, only nine certified for more than six passengers. Take a look at the old pictures, when boats were double and triple tied to the docks. What was true then is no longer relevant. In the last 15 years, only four innovations have been made in the harbor and two have fallen by the wayside. Who wants to take an expensive trip to Pacific City for six black rockfish? And the deepwater trips to the Tug and other hotspots are now closed from April 1 to September 30. The other new opportunities happened when Jim Tate brought the first zodiac into the harbor and Carrie Newell began her three and five day research trips in 2006, and both are still viable. The charter fleet will continue to be eroded as quotas and limits in all fisheries are reduced. A body like NSAT needs to be working on new programs before the harbor becomes little more than a pond for ducky derbies. NSAT’s best hope is that the funding problems for 2009 – 10 are true. Otherwise, by sticking the harbor’s neck out by volunteering a marine reserve site, the head is likely to be chopped off. Author Name Staff - news@depoebaybeacon.com |
