Steve Bloom/The Olympian
Cathlamet area fishers Marty Kuller (left) and Steve Farnsworth bag a coho salmon for distribution during the fish give-away and rally against imported farm-raised salmon Monday on the steps of the state Capitol.

Angry fishers give away coho to protest Chilean imports

'Dumping' by fish farms driving down prices, protesters say

BRAD SHANNON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published September 11, 2001

OLYMPIA -- Columbia River fishers gave away a ton of freshly caught coho at the Capitol on Monday while calling on government officials to slap tariffs on imported fish that they blame for driving down prices.

The main culprits are fish farms in Chile, Rochester fisherman Bruce Crookshanks said.

Crookshanks said the Chileans are "dumping" salmon at such low prices that Northwest buyers are offering less for Columbia River fish than it costs to run fishing boats.

"They're offering us anywhere from 20 cents to 40 cents (per pound) right off the boat," Crookshanks said at a small rally of about two dozen fishers who waved placards with such messages as "We Can't Afford to Fish" and "Dumped Farm Fish Are Sinking Us.''

"We can't afford to compete at these prices," Crookshanks said. "It means we're out of business. It means there's going to be a lot of fish going to waste."

Food bank windfall

The fish giveaway, which was mirrored in Salem, Ore., included donations of fish to food banks in Olympia, Tenino and Rochester.

Crookshanks said 2,068 pounds of cleaned fish were donated in Olympia alone.

The rally, which was supported by the Columbia River Fishermen's Protective Union and Salmon for All, kicked off a campaign by the fishers to put a tariff on fish-farm imports.

The fishers also urged the Bush Administration to negotiate with Chile to stop the alleged dumping of fish on the market at below-cost prices.

Crookshanks said the needed action would be similar to tariffs put on Chilean raspberries and Canadian lumber after similar unfair trade actions.

Crookshanks also urged consumers to ask at restaurants and in markets if fish is imported from fish farms or naturally caught.

"If it's imported," he said, "Say, 'No thank you,' " Crookshanks said.

Fishing for support

Many people who showed up to grab a free fish had no idea why the protest was staged, including Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders, who bent slightly as a fisher helped him steer a long fish into a plastic bag.

"I'll have something to eat tonight on my meager government salary," Sanders joked.

Sanders said he was unfamiliar with the issue at hand and described himself as a "free-trader.''

But Olympia resident Keith Webber, who also snagged a couple of free fish, said he'll support the boycott.

Same for Shelley Nagel, who works in the fishery license-buyback program for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"We understand; we know what they are going through,'' Nagel said.

Andrew Rosenberg, a volunteer with the South Thurston United Friends' food bank in Rochester, said he had bins in his truck to take the cleaned fish to a crew of 10 people who would shrink-wrap it before giving it away to hungry families.

"I think it's a good gesture," Rosenberg said of the fishers' donation.

Politicians were also paying attention to the situation. Three state legislators -- Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester, and Reps. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, and Mark Doumit, D-Cathlamet -- attended the rally and said they support the workers.

Swecker, a fish farmer for 20 years and an officer with the Washington Fish Growers Association, said his group hasn't taken a position yet, but Washington fish farmers have been hurt by Chile's action.

Swecker said he agrees with putting tariffs on Chilean imports, and he does not want to see a free-trade agreement reached between the United States and Chile if it doesn't address the unfair trade practice.

And Doumit sent a letter asking for help to U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.

"We all feel that until something is done at an international level that would not allow this type of unfair competition, such as a compensating tariff or a new pricing structure, our salmon industry will continue to be crippled," Doumit said in a letter also signed by Sen. Sid Snyder and Rep. Brian Hatfield, both of Pacific County.

Big salmon run

An "extremely large run" of about 1.1 million coho is expected in the Columbia River this year, Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Tim Waters said.

The commercial fishing season began last week in Oregon but won't start for another week for Columbia River fishers holding Washington licenses.

Crookshanks said it's not a question of too many fishers, but of prices, which ran as high as $2.10 per pound fresh off the boat a decade ago and above $1 in recent years.

Especially galling, Crookshanks said, the low prices offered today are not reflected in the price paid by consumers in the supermarket.

With 500 Washington boats licensed to fish the Columbia, upward of 750 jobs could be affected by cutbacks triggered by prices, Crookshanks said.

At a price of $1 per pound, he said the likely catch would be worth $12 million, but with prices far below that level, he's not sure how many fishers will bother.

Brad Shannon, political editor for The Olympian, can be reached at 360-753-1688 or shannonbrad@hotmail.com.

On the web:

Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

back to main Outdoors: Fishing index