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Gillnetters are angry over new rules limiting gillnet fishing to sloughs and other waters off the main channel of the Columbia. One fisherman says he's quitting the profession in protest.
credit:
Cassandra Profita/OPB's Ecotrope
SKAMOKAWA, Wash. — A longtime gillnet fisherman on the Columbia River says he is giving up his profession, after both Washington and Oregon voted to phase out gillnet fishing on the main stem river.
Marty Kuller tells the Longview Daily News the new Columbia River fisheries plan will leave little room for him and his way of life.
The new rules would relegate gillnets to tributaries and bays and force commercial fishermen to adopt alternative fishing gear.
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the new plan on Saturday. Oregon approved the plan in December. The measures are meant to protect endangered salmon stocks.
Gillnetters have sued the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission, saying the new rules make it impossible for them to ply their trade in Oregon and Washington.
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