Hi Norman,

Here's part of the story, but not all, as to why "some" of the owners and charter offices, and the Chamber of commerce asked others to vote against I-696.

1. It was a flawed initiative. It would have only impacted non-tribal commercials. There were no provision on how the charters were to get their herring for fishing, your herring as well. Try to supply all of the herring used in this state using only herring lampara and dip nets.

2. Many of these folks also fish commercially, or have friends and famiily who fish commercially. Fishing is an industry, be it sport or commercial. They decided to stand together instead of falling divided. (Think PETA chipping away at your hunting rights, Sarah Brady going after your guns.)

3. There are very few living wage jobs in western Grays Harbor County, so eliminating one of the major employers in the area would have meant even worse economic consequences. Timber took a huge toll in the 80's and 90's, the shipyard only provides so many jobs, and many of these folks (not all) are not suitable to work for the corrections facility. This bill would have pretty much been the death blow to their economy. Westport, as you know it today, would not have survived. This bill meant putting their neighbors, families, and friends out of work.

4. Commercial trolling, no nets involved, would have been banned within 3 miles of the coast.

5. There was no provision for paying the commercials for their licenses. How would you like to put money and effort into your house and then have someone take it away, even though you were following the rules. That is a huge investment to walk away from as some of these licenses are sold a lot like negotiable securities.

Think how you felt, if you hunted with hounds, after the hounds intiative passed. Think about how you felt after the trapping intiative passed. It may not have affected you directly, but I had friends who hunted bears and cougars with hounds. I knew trappers, too. This is how these guys felt. Someone else from out of town was coming in and saying "I don't like what your doing, so you can't do it anymore!" The folks of Westport took a Libertarian stance.

Our intiative process is certainly flawed, just look at that joker, Tim Eyman.

I voted for 696, but there were a lot of problems with it. There were many far ranging effects to this intiative, depending on where you lived, so it wasn't a clear cut issue if you lived or worked in western Grays Harbor county. I am not supporting what these folks thought, just reporting it.

Andy

P.S. If you are looking to refer someone to a boat that isn't fished commercially, except for charters, I would go on the Gold Rush 2, out of Westport or Washington Charters. I think that they use the same office. Kevin is a schoolteacher by trade who fishes on his summer break. Best of luck.

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: Dogfish ]