CRAB VOTE BY THE COMMISSION IS IN!!!
AND WE WON!!!! The commission made some minor modifications to Option A to underscore the need for better reporting, enforcement and education to increase reporting. Then, by a vote of 7-2 they adopted Option A. Let's give credit to all of the groups that were involved in getting this done.
I also want to give credit to the legislators that sent a letter to the commission recently as well. You can see that letter and their signatures on Nelly's blog.
Here's how the votes went down:
Smith – NO
Orr – NO
Perry – YES
Chew – YES
Douvia – YES
Mahnken – YES
Jennings – YES
Schmitten – YES
Wecker – YES
By the way, in typical fashion the commercials pulled out all stops after threatening to sue the commission if they voted today. They also brought babies, attorneys, "save our jobs" signs (ignoring the thousands of jobs in the sportfishing industry of course), and stickers trying to delay or beat back the rule change. The have already said that they will make good on the threat to sue.
Below is a description of Option A and a brief history on Puget sound Recreational Crabbing done by CCA.
Option A
Recreational fishery managed using a fixed season
• July – Labor Day
• 5 days per week, including weekends
• October – December Winter Season (7 days/week)
• 5 crab daily bag limit
CCA Washington Policy Statement
Puget Sound Recreational Crabbing
The “Three S” Dungeness crab management has been in place for decades in Washington State. Season, Size, and Sex selective harvest has resulted in one of the state’s most sustainable fisheries.
In excess of 90% of the total harvest is taken commercially and this is to a certain extent justified since it mainly occurs in coastal waters that are largely inaccessible to recreationalists. However, a disproportionate commercial harvest also occurs within the protected waters of Puget Sound where, due to limited opportunities in other fisheries, the interest in recreational crabbing has rapidly grown.
Since the fishery resources of Washington are the property of all its present and future citizens, CCA Washington supports a policy that prioritizes and increases the recreational share of the sustainable crab harvest in the waters of Puget Sound.
In adopting the above policy, CCA Washington:
• Recognizes that conservation should be the driving consideration in the management of Puget Sound Dungeness crab.
• Opposes increasing the overall Puget Sound Dungeness crab harvest unless corresponding increases in abundance are achieved through other conservation measures.
• Recognizes the tribal rights to 50% of the harvest.
• Supports increased efforts and funding to remove derelict gear.
• Supports development of new gear techniques to minimize the deadly effect of derelict pots.
• Supports proportionate increases in the Puget Sound Dungeness crab endorsement fees provided they are used to manage and enhance the recreational crab fishery and are accountable to the public.
Crabbing Background
Background
In 1995 management of the Dungeness crab fishery within Washington State changed substantially. The 9th Circuit Court delivered an order known as the Rafeedie Decision, based on the Stevens Treaties signed between the State of Washington and certain Tribes in the territory during the 1850s. The 9th Circuit Order required that the harvestable surplus of shellfish in Washington be allocated equally (50/50) between the Treaty Tribes and State fisheries.
Prior to the Rafeedie Decision, the Puget Sound recreational fishery was a year-round fishery with a daily bag limit of 6 male Dungeness crab. There was also a concurrent commercial fishery that was limited by a set pound limit. The commercial crab fishery averaged 1.8 million pounds annually from 1984-1993.
After the Rafeedie Decision, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) decided that it would allocate roughly 1/3 of the total non-tribal share of available harvest for a year round recreational fishery, thus giving 2/3 of the Puget Sound non-tribal crab catch to the commercial fishery. The current WDFW policy (C-3609) states that the department shall “provide for an economically viable and stable commercial harvest…and maintain a quality recreational fishery”.
In the last decade the Puget Sound recreational crab fishery has grown in popularity. Due to this popularity and in order to maintain the 1/3 allocation split, the WDFW has had to reduce the recreational season down to less than 3 months per year with a daily limit of 5 adult male crab in Puget Sound.
Facts
The annual Puget Sound Dungeness crab harvest for recreational, commercial and tribal fisheries in the state is roughly 8 million pounds. Tribal fisheries have treaty rights to half this catch, or 4 million pounds. In 2009 recreational crabbers caught approximately 1.5 million pounds compared with a non-tribal commercial catch of over 3.0 million pounds. Meanwhile, the commercial harvest of Dungeness crab in coastal waters outside of Puget Sound averages approximately 9 million pounds annually.
Currently there are 181 commercial crab fishers holding the 250 limited entry commercial permits in Washington. This is compared to over 236,000 (2009) recreational crabbers in Puget Sound. Combining the ocean and Puget Sound catches, over 90% of the total non-tribal harvest is taken annually by non-tribal commercial fishing. Yet current independent economic analysis demonstrates greater financial benefit is afforded to the State by recreational fisheries as compared to commercial.
CCA Washington Policy Statement
Puget Sound Recreational Crabbing
Harvest
-Since 1991 the total Puget Sound recreational, commercial and tribal crab harvest has increased from approximately 2.5 million pounds to over 8 million pounds in 2008.
-Non-tribal commercial harvest from 1991- 2008 has increased from over 1.2 million pounds to over 3 million pounds (150%) while recreational harvest has only increased from under 1 million pounds to around 1.5 million pounds (50%) during the same period.
-Average crab harvest for non-tribal commercial harvesters in Puget Sound from 2000 – 2008 was approximately 33% the state share, compared to recreational harvest of 17