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M/CLOUDY Temp: 42 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Monday, March 3, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 8, 2003 State not likely to trim bottomfish season Commission wants to wait for a stock assessment to see how black rockfish are faring along the entire coast By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Oregon likely will keep its year-round recreational bottomfishing season in 2003 after a state panel spoke out Friday against cutting the season amid concerns that bottomfish stocks may be over- fished. In a hearing in Portland, members of the public told the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission not to cut two to five months off this year’s recreational bottomfishing season as an emergency measure to add further protection to black and blue rockfish from potential over-harvest. The commission last fall cut the 2003 limits to black and blue rockfish — two of many species categorized as bottomfish — but warned they could enact emergency mid-season closures unprecedented among Oregon’s 60 bottomfish charters and a pleasure-boat fleet in the thousands. "They heard, fairly unanimously, that they should let all the conservation measures stay in place now and see what happens," commission spokeswoman Anne Pressentin Young said. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists echoed that sentiment. The seven-member commission is scheduled to vote on the matter March 21, but several members stated their views Friday after the hearing. "They said they were inclined to leave it where it’s at for 2003," said Don Bodenmiller, the ODFW’s project leader for recreational fisheries based in Newport. The commission also wants to wait for a coast-wide stock assessment on black rockfish by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine just how poor the slow-growing, fine- tasting fish are faring along the entire coast. That assessment should be completed by fall, when the ODFW and commission will look at seasons and bag limits for 2004. The commission likewise hinted that it won’t change the commercial rockfish harvest cap for 2003, but told ODFW managers to work with commercial fishermen in the growing live-fish fleet to see whether set fishing months is a better way to handle the season than an open season among permit-holders until harvest levels are reached, Bodenmiller said. The commission also will decide on that issue next month, Bodenmiller said. Worried that cuts to rockfish harvest may come too late to save the fishery, commission members asked ODFW officials to craft what seasons would look like if harvest levels were cut back to 20 percent of the 2000 catch — or, roughly, what they were in the mid-1990s. Possible changes included cutting the new 10 "marine-fish" limit (all ocean fish except salmon, tuna, surfperch, sanddab and bait-fish) to six a day while keeping the traditional year- round season. Others included the two to five months off the fishing year, with limits of eight or six fish. Charterboat operators balked, saying sport-anglers would not pay $55 to catch six or eight rockfish. In other action, the commission adopted new management plans and strategies for managing the state’s deer and elk populations. The plans, developed after a lengthy process of public comment and biological review, call for more research and increased habitat work — and fewer alterations to sport-hunting seasons — as the best strategies for rebuilding the declining herds. The commission also formally set in motion a review of archery-hunting seasons for deer and elk. The seasons, which have remained virtually unchanged since the 1970s, have come under scrutiny in recent years because of a vast increase in archery hunters and some concerns from rifle hunters that bow seasons are too liberal. The review, which will include discussions with interest groups, a random poll of sport-hunters and public hearings, is expected to last until fall 2004. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S