Petition for Judicial Review of Gillnet Ban Filed in Oregon Appeals Court

On Friday, January 4, attorney Ben Miller of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. in Eugene filed a Petition for Judicial Review with the Oregon Court of Appeals, seeking to have the radical reallocation plan and gillnet ban adopted by the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission on December 7, 2012 ruled invalid. Attorney Miller cites five separate instances of rules violations committed by the Commission and the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife during the foreshortened process leading up to the Commission’s decision, any one of which would invalidate the entire process. Steve Fick, James Wells, and Fishhawk Fisheries are the Petitioners in the case. Attorney Miller indicated he will seek a stay of enforcement of the rule changes adopted by the Commission pending judicial review.
“The state left us no choice,” said Fick in response to the filing. “Our commercial fishing and processing jobs in the lower Columbia River as just as important as the five hundred Nike jobs Governor Kitzhaber recently bent over backwards to keep in Oregon. Governor Kitzhaber’s reallocation plan would have a devastating effect on our community and the economy of the lower Columbia River. That’s why our community stands solidly behind us.
“Respect for democracy dictates that rules and administrative procedures are to be followed, rather than flaunted. In this case, the Fish & Wildlife Commission broke the rules, so we are seeking to redress our grievances through the court,” said Fick.

Salmon For All is a nonprofit trade association of Columbia River commercial fishermen and processors, representing the Columbia River gillnet industry. Steve Fick of Fishhawk Fisheries is an Astoria processor and Salmon For All Board member. James Wells is a Columbia River commercial fisherman and Board President of Salmon For All.