Nearly two years after a winter storm caused damage across Astoria, local leaders and fishermen from both sides of the Columbia River celebrate the long-awaited reopening of the Youngs Bay Gangway.

The gangway, which extends into Youngs Bay from near the Astoria Recreation Center, has long been used by gillnet fishermen to access a nearby floating dock to moor fishing boats. In December 2022, a winter storm severely damaged the structure, rendering it unusable for months.

Now, thanks to an $800,000 joint investment from the city and county and the work of county staff and community partners, a sleek new aluminum walkway leads down to the water.

“It took two years, but we’re here with a huge upgrade,” Mark Kujala, the chair of the county Board of Commissioners, said at Friday’s event. “Anybody who walked the old wooden walkway knows how much nicer this is.”

The upgrade comes as a relief to the Clatsop County Fisheries Project, which receives truckloads of juvenile fish each year from local hatcheries to raise in its net pens. Steve Meshke, the county’s natural resources manager, said the program is looking to release 825,000 coho, 1.35 million Chinook and 2.5 million tule fall Chinook this year from the Youngs Bay net pens alone. When the fish return, they’re harvested at a high rate, making them a significant economic driver for the county.

Tending to those fish without a gangway, however, has been no easy task.

“It was a project that needed to get done,” Meshke said. “We had a heck of a time getting out to the pens without the pier. Just getting out and doing the daily care and maintenance of the fish was really difficult for that two-year period.”

Fishermen have struggled without a functional gangway. The structure provides access to one of two spots on Youngs Bay where fishermen can tie up their boats, but with reduced capacity at the other site, the gangway’s closure has been especially challenging. Jim Wells, president of Salmon For All, a nonprofit focused on protecting fishing rights and conserving Columbia River salmon resources, said some fishermen resorted to paddling smaller boats or kayaks out on the water just to access their fishing boats.

“You can’t run a fishery like this without a way to get from land out to your boat reasonably, so that’s why this is so valuable,” Wells said.

Wells estimated the select areas for commercial fishing bring in more than $2 million in ex-vessel value each year, adding that Youngs Bay is the biggest and most economically significant select area for gillnetters in the county. Because most of the fishermen are local, the money they make is spent in the community and multiplied by local seafood processors, restaurants and other businesses.

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“This money basically stays between Brownsmead and Knappa to Ilwaco — both sides of the river. The Washington fishermen can come over and fish these areas with their Washington license, so they spend their money over here, too,” Wells said. “With that in mind, everybody involved has made an investment in a project that will pay dividends to the county, city and the community for many years to come, and it’s greatly appreciated by us.”

That sense of gratitude echoed among attendees at Friday’s event, from state Rep. Cyrus Javadi and state Sen. Suzanne Weber, Tillamook Republicans who helped secure funding for the project, to the Clatsop County Public Works Department on design and Topper Industries and Bergerson Construction on manufacturing and installation.

“We look at this as a classic case of government doing its intended job, helping the citizens and the community,” Wells said. “We see this as an investment in the future of the select area fishery.”