SALEM Oregon commercial salmon fishermen went to bat for the rights to gillnet on the main stem of the Columbia River. Sport fishermen and conservation groups have proposed Senate Bill 736, which would limit gillnet fishing to bays and estuaries in the lower Columbia region. State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, was the first at the plate for the opposition.

Attempts to eliminate gillnet fishing are a staple of Oregon politics. There have been two statewide ballot initiatives, the first of which was more than 40 years ago. The last three Oregon Legislatures have considered similar anti-gillnet legislation.

Sixty-seven people crowded into the hearing room to speak for and against the bill before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee in Salem March 24. No action was taken, but the majority of the witnesses voiced opposition to the bill.

Colleagues, in this economic climate, the Oregon Legislature should not be picking economic winners and losers. We should not be voting to put people out of business, Johnson said, opposing the bill at the hearing. 

The details of this bill will be left to others. Im simply here to plead for the jobs of some of my constituents.

Johnson called the issue a hot button for her district and quoted the governor as saying 15 jobs in Coos Bay equal 500 in Portland. Johnson was in full agreement.

If you pass this bill, she warned the committee, you will have extinguished a significant number of jobs and the commerce for economic activity those jobs generate in my district. All of this without any conservation benefit.

Instead of deciding who will still have a job at the end of this legislative session, we should put aside the old turf debate between recreational and commercial fisheries. We should begin to reason together for more real opportunities for all fishermen.

Johnson also challenged what hidden agendas were at work with this bill, including a genuine interest in shutting down all commercial salmon fishing in Oregon, regardless of the method. She suggested creating a work group to find a solution with the agencies and with each other.

After her comments, the testimony period was opened up to tribes, panels and the general public.

Bruce Jim, from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, said a lot of things are done at the whim of legislators without consideration for the ramifications of what the change can cause. He said the commercial fishermen have stepchild syndrome, standing to the side without a lollipop.

In defense of commercial fishermen, as I am speaking of, the commercial line not only employs themselves but they have the product of what they have, the warehouses, the fish buying stations, the people who are employed at those fish buying stations, the restaurants, the grocery stores, the people who haul the stuff, Jim said. Its millions to billions of dollars that livelihood creates. Its not something just for recreation or to have a good time. And thats what you guys have to realize.

Jim, being a tribal member, also pointed out that the bill does not state protection of the tribal treaties to fish the Columbia.

The interpretation that can be made through the bill has tribal members, including Jim, concerned.

Thats what this is creating. Its creating a storm, the perfect storm, to where I dont think anyone will want to be in on it. And its really dangerous thinking, he said. 

Astoria-area fishermen Bruce Buckmaster, Jim Wells and Cary Johnson all spoke to the committee on behalf of the local fishing industry. Wells was the first to speak and noted the peculiar proponents of the bill, including the Coastal Conservation Association.

One would have to wonder why a lobbying group with conservation included in their title would promote a nonconservation issue, Wells said. He is a lifetime commercial fisherman and a State Columbia River Advisory group member.

Wells submitted his net inventory to the committee and explained, Each net is designed by mesh size for a specific purpose. When mesh size is combined with time and area openings, the gillnet is recognized as one of the most selective methods of harvest in commercial fishing today. The idea that the gillnet fleet deploys a one-size net that catches everything is a complete misconception of reality.

He added that the proposition is a no win-win situation and taxpayers and residents have a right to the Columbia River fish.

No biological or conservation issue exists for the bill, he said.

Others made comments about the bill making no sense and affecting employment along the river in areas already devastated by unemployment percentages.

Irene Martin from Wahkiakum County also spoke about the bill. She is a priest and her church runs the countys domestic violence shelter and preschool in a county with the states second-highest unemployment rate. The commercial fishing industry is one of the only viable economic engines remaining, she said, while the social problems are the worst shes ever seen. Suicide is prevalent in Wahkiakum County and the reasoning for that could be linked to depression and the state of desperation. 

Please do not be seduced into the belief that there will be no loss of jobs or community consequences by passing this legislation, she said, adding that the best birthday gift for the city of Astoria is to reject the proposal.