NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — Dean Fleck put in an urgent phone call to his purchasing agent on Thursday.
The manager of the Newport branch of Englund Marine Supply was fresh out of two different sizes of troll wire, a critical piece of gear for the Chinook salmon fleet, which is back in business for the first time in three years.
"We're going to have to scramble to try to fill the void," Fleck said.
Spring forecasts for juvenile Chinook on California's Sacramento River were promising back in February. But the Oregon fleet, battered by years of nearly complete closures of salmon fishing on the West Coast, is full of boats that have been deferring maintenance, focusing their efforts on other ways to make a living.
Thursday's news that there will be a commercial and recreational Chinook season means a run on commercial fishing gear. And that's a good thing.
"It's pretty exciting," Fleck said. "You can feel the optimism in the air here."
Newport Mayor Bill Bain said it's not just fishermen who track the decisions by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the body that counsels the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration about how much fishing to allow on the West Coast. It's marine supply shops such as Fleck's, restaurants, car dealerships and hotels, up and down the Oregon Coast.
"It affects the whole community," Bain said. "This is a major economic activity while the season is going on. They figure each dollar (earned by the fleet) is multiplied 3.5 times. It's important for all the coastal communities in the state. It's just a really big deal."
The council's decision, which still needs a final approval from NOAA on May 1, was for a "modest" fishery, in comparison to years past. South of Cape Falcon, which has been all but closed to Chinook fishing since 2007, trollers will be able to catch 8,200 Chinook fish. North of Cape Falcon, the limit is much bigger: 117,000 Chinook, and 80,000 hatchery coho salmon.
There will be recreational fisheries in both regions, too. Sport anglers north of Falcon will be allowed to haul in up to 12,000 marked Chinook between June 12 and June 30, and they will be able to fish seven days per week, bringing in as many as two per day, up to 24 inches long. To the south, the quota is 26,000, between June 26 and Sept. 6.
Allowing salmon fishing this year will make a noticeable difference at the Port of Newport, said manager Don Mann.
"Salmon is like a magnet," he said. "With a fishing season, people come here and stay longer; it means a lot to the local businesses."
Now it's up to the fleet to get up to speed. Charleston troller Jeff Reeves said he's switched much of his gear over to become a crab boat. Not having banked on a salmon season this year, he and many other skippers aren't ready.
"A lot of us got caught with our pants down," Reeves said. "The infrastructure is overwhelmed; the ship yards are full of boats trying to haul out at the last minute, get their life rafts repacked, their safety equipment together."
Reeves, for one, said he's going to stick with crabbing, because he's not sure the fish will actually show up.
"I'm not convinced," Reeves said. "I hope I'm absolutely wrong."
