Port of Astoria meeting recap

Published 2:29 pm Sunday, February 8, 2026

On Feb. 3, the Port of Astoria Commission met for its regular monthly meeting and discussed a range of topics including writing a letter to support local fishermen, selling parts of a dredging vessel and more.

Letter of support to local fishermen

Port Commissioners agreed to write a letter in support of local fishermen as a response to a petition filed to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife by several environmental groups.

The petition seeks broad reforms to the commercial Dungeness crabbing season. The environmental groups said that the reforms — reducing the pot limit by 40% and requiring the use of “pop up” crab pots — will reduce whale and sea turtle entanglements. According to the petition, these changes would reduce harm to marine life and still allow for a Dungeness crab fishing fleet.

“What I’ve heard from (local fishermen) is that if implemented this would shrink the number of boats in the fishery and seemingly give an advantage to the larger boats,” said Port Executive Director Will Isom.

“Traditionally, the state and federal regulators controlled fisheries by introducing inefficiencies into fishing gear — and this is a big step beyond that,” said Commissioner Robert Stevens.

“That crab fishery’s value is greater than all of the other fisheries combined,” said Commissioner Dirk Rhone. “I think we all agree on moving forward with a letter of support.”

The letter will be sent ahead of an official ODFW meeting to decide on the matter slated for Feb. 20.

Dredge ship partially sold

Commissioners approved an $11,000 sale of surplus dredging equipment to WCT Marine & Construction, Inc. Previous to the sale, the aging dredge was dismantled and pulled from the water, according to Port Maintenance Director Joe Tadei.

“The dredge is 50 years old,” said Tadei, “people have seen that there’s not much value left in it.”

According to Tadei, the over 50-year-old dredge is beyond its usable life.

“At this point parting it out is about the best value we’re going to get out of it at this point,” he said.

The sale of the dredging equipment does not constitute a sale of all the equipment originally intended to be surplussed. The Port estimates the value of the remaining equipment to be $12,000.

Commercial Fishermen’s Appreciation Lunch sponsorship

Commissioners also approved a $500 sponsorship of the 2026 Commercial Fishermen’s Appreciation Lunch. The lunch is organized by FishHer Columbia Pacific Community Alliance, a nonprofit that supports the local fishing industry. They’re expecting to feed around 200.

The nonprofit has previously helped fishing vessels purchase survival suits and other safety gear, and to assist local fishers through financial hardship.

“When I first joined the Coast Guard, we were always too late, because we did not have GPS, did not have satellites, did not have all that great survival equipment,” said Stevens, “so I’m all for this.”

Stevens and fellow commissioner, Jim Campbell, had attended last year’s lunch.

“I think it’s a really good deal,” said Stevens, “and it’s a way for us to support one of our biggest constituencies.”