Stop Gillnetting Now

As the 2013 Oregon legislative session enters it’s final days deals are being cut, bills taken hostage and dangerous backroom dealing is afoot in Salem.

Senate Bill 830, which supports the Kitzhaber gillnet removal plan, is in jeopardy of falling victim to these last minute closed door deals.

Senate Bill 830 will re-legalize alternative, selective fishing gears and provide funding to help commercial gillnet fisherman transition to these more sustainable, selective fishing practices.

With only days, and maybe hours, left to this session we need you to contact the leadership of the Oregon State legislature and tell them that passage and funding of SB 830 is critical as a matter of fairness and moving forward on the Kitzhaber gillnet removal plan.

Will you take 2 minutes to email or call Speaker of the House Tina Kotek and tell her not trade this important bill at the end of the session?

[email protected] or 503-986-1200 or you can send an email through the CCA's Voter Voice: https://www.votervoice.net/CCAPNW/1/Campaigns/32852/Respond

Your message to the speaker is simple:


--->Failing to pass SB 830 will only re-ignite the long standing controversy over Columbia River gillnets in Oregon.

--->Do not trade SB 830 for votes on other bills. The Legislature needs to act to pass and fund SB 830.

--->SB 830 is a key part of Governor Kitzhaber's compromise Columbia River fishery reform proposal, which has been adopted by the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife Commissions.

--->Failing to pass SB 830 only harms the commercial fishing interests that are opposing the bill.

The lobbyists are having their say, it's time Speaker Kotek heard from the you!


Thank you for your time and support.

Sincerely,

Stop Gillnets Now

URGENT GILLNET ACTION ALERT! Right now, dangerous backroom dealing is afoot in Salem that threatens the passage and funding of SB 830, which is an important component of the Columbia River gillnet reform package that was recently adopted by the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife...

It's been awhile since we've given an update so we wanted to share with you the progress of removing gillnets from the Lower Columbia River.

As you know, last December the Oregon Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Commission adopted a historic plan proposed by Governor Kitzhaber to phase out the destructive, indiscriminate and unnecessary practice of commercial gillnet fishing on the mainstem of the Lower Columbia River over the next three years. A month later the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the same plan.

The adoption of the Kitzhaber plan was a victory for our endangered salmon and other forms of wildlife like diving birds, otters, beavers that become trapped in gillnets causing them to drown after prolonged suffering.

Unfortunately, the commercial gillnet lobby has chosen to continue to fight this sensible and fair compromise plan. In January they filed a lawsuit challenging the Kitzhaber plan and have taken the fight to the Oregon legislature in hopes of finding some way to continue their destructive fishing practices.

Make no mistake, the gillnet industry will fight this all the way. When they do not succeed in Court, they will seek other ways to weaken, delay or change the original agreement.

The good news is in the coming weeks there will be opportunities for you to voice your support for removing gillnets from the Columbia once again. The ODFW Commission and the Oregon Legislature are considering proposals to fund and implement the gillnet phase-out plan and we are going to need your voice to remind them of the strong grassroots support that still exists to end the destructive practice of commercial gillnetting.

BIG NEWS!

Yesterday, the Washington Anglers PAC released their 2012 voters guide. BOTH candidates for Governor - Jay Inslee (D) and Rob McKenna (R) strongly supported Governor Kitzhaber's plan and both candidates committed to directing the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to move gillnets off the mainstem of the Columbia River. http://www.washingtonanglerspac.com/voters-guide/

Voter’s Guide | Washington Anglers For Conservation Political Action Committee

Gillnets are killing whales, sea turtles and sharks off California's coast. Oregon banned gillnets in our coastal waters decades ago, but we still allow them to kill marine mammals and endangered salmon on the Columbia River. Click 'like' if you want this deadly practice to end!

Lawsuit Launched to Save Whales, Sea Turtles, Sharks From California's Deadly Fishing Nets SAN FRANCISCO— Conservation groups filed a notice of intent to sue the federal government under the Endangered Species Act today for authorizing California’s drift gillnet fishery, which has killed alarming numbers of endangered s***m whales in recent years. In addition to s***m whales, the fishery ...