Danny Westneat / Times staff columnist
Something fishy about subsidies

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"Fishermen tend to be strong individualists and enjoy self-reliance," says the marker at Fishermen's Terminal. Which makes it awkward that the government now pays the fishermen to fish.

More than 1,000 local salmon fishermen are getting subsidy checks from the federal government this year, up to $10,000, to try to make up for low prices caused by the influx of farm-raised salmon.

The payments put fishermen in the same category as farmers, who have received crop subsidies for decades.

It's a bit of relief after a time of financial hardship. But it also marks the passing of a maverick way of life.

"That idea that we are independent and self-sufficient has gone by the wayside," says David Harsila, 50, a commercial salmon fisherman for 30 years. "Now it's all about whether you can survive in a corporatized world."

Some fishermen are touchy about the subject. When I called the payments "subsidies," one fisherman objected.

"It's an economic incentive to get through a rough period," he said.

Whatever they're called, I hope they don't last.

It's not that salmon fishermen don't deserve help. If these payments sustain them through a down time, then it will be money well spent.

But long term, paying fishermen for each pound of fish they catch is misguided policy.
 
For starters, we just paid tens of millions of dollars to get many of them to stop fishing. The point was to buy out licenses to shrink the fishing fleet, permanently easing pressure on salmon runs.

That policy is working, as many fish runs are rebounding.

Second, when the government has to prop up an industry, it means the industry is in desperate need of change.

One problem is that fishermen sell wild salmon to corporations for as little as 25 cents a pound. Much of that prime fish gets canned, though gourmet eaters might pay $10 per pound for it fresh.

To their credit, some local fishermen, including Harsila, are cutting out the middlemen so they can put freshly caught fish directly on local tables.

About 200 gill-netters banded together and taxed themselves 2 percent of profits to set up ways to sell their catch at farmers markets, stores such as Larry's or PCC and even straight off the boat.

The idea is you get the freshest salmon possible. And the fishermen get more money.

"There's a renaissance in this small-scale fishing," says Pete Knutson, another local gill-netter. "It's sustainable for the fishermen and the fishery."

So forget buying farm-raised fish at Safeway. Go to www.soundcatch.org to find where to get salmon direct from those who caught it.

Better yet, go to Fishermen's Terminal and buy it straight off the boat (call first, 206-728-3395, as hours are variable.)

The fish taste better, and you'll support the fishermen the old-fashioned way — by buying their fish, not by giving them a handout.

Danny Westneat's column appears Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 206-464-2086 or dwestneat@seattletimes.com.