HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppropriations Request -----—---- —
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From: Capt.Randy Jones ���' �wS
Venture Charters Inc.
To: Gov. Christine Gregoire's office �e<y 0
RE: Halibut Catch Record Fee's New Revenue
Thank you for your time your honor if you read this personally.
No one appreciates a new licensing fee,however this should be different.
The fees for sportsmen are not popular for a couple reasons. When you fish for salmon and rockfish, it is spotty and
often nonproductive due to over harvesting. Salmon fishing for three to six pound fish is more sport than sustenance.
Halibut however, are different.-A halibut can fill your freezer like a deer. In March it can retail for up to 20.00 a
pound, a 40 pound halibut would sell for$600.00 filleted. Every halibut fisherman knows that Canadian licenses are
$114.91 for non-residents and people flock across the border to fish there. It is a huge tourism income to British
Columbia.
Many people in Jefferson, Clallam, Kitsap,Pierce and King counties have gotten involved since last years Hood
Canal bridge closure/late season opening debacle.
A proposal for a$20.00 halibut catch card patterned after the crab catch record card should be the answer all can get
behind. Halibut is closed all over the state by August 1st. This card could be due back to the state by then for tallying.
Any argument against this is a reason to abolish crab catch record cards.
The random sampling(especially inside the Straight of Juan de Fuca)cannot be remotely close. People who have
caught their halibut go back to the marina where they are met by fish checkers. People who have not stay out sometimes
until 9 p.m.when it is still daylight and still come in with no luck. According to Heather Reed in the ground fish pro-
gram,halibut fishing was better in the 2009 season than the 2008 season. It was not. Tell that to a friend of mine who
spent 14 days before he caught his first fish. Depending on tides, myself and many others are out there in the evening.
The Pacific International Halibut Commission has a chart that can be printed in the game book for pound estimates,
which can be required on the catch card. Blue collar workers in Kitsap,Jefferson and Clallam counties are struggling. A
21 foot boat with any problems is almost worthless in this economy. A 40-90 pound halibut more than pays for the fuel.
Many cannot afford$80.00 worth of fuel for a 5 pound salmon. Although very contentious a bag limit based on number
of fish and/or weight is also an idea. A few people camp at Neah bay, Sekiu,Port Angeles and Sequim to just keep load-
ing up on halibut. The better they get at it the more they catch making it harder for the average person to get theirs.
The revenue could give the game department more funding for a more accurate diagnosis for the IPHC. The long-
liners (tribal and non-tribal) should not have a legitimate complaint. Unreported cards would not be issued a new license
and/or fined. Charter boats must collect and send in all day passes by the due date. Ling cod could even be added in in
area 5-13 possibly. Last years late opener severely impacted businesses like myself while making huge profits for new
start-up long liners. We can not afford another year like that. Boat repair shops,motels, charter boats, camp grounds,
sport shops,ect.rely on that early April opener in Port Townsend, Sequim and port Angeles area to start their income.
Thank you for time, I am including my qualifications after the list of CC's.
Sincerely,
Capt. Randy Jones
1777 Bay St.
Port Orchard,WA 98366
y (
Phone : 360-876-4890
Cell : 360-895-5424
VENTURE