Fort Bragg Advocate-News/Staff
Fort Bragg”s favorite pink fish has made a dramatic comeback in 2012, celebrated by the biggest crowd at the World”s Largest Salmon Barbecue in the last five years.
While estimated king salmon returning numbers leaped from the low thousands to over a million, barbecue attendance growth has been much slower, but steady.
Volunteers served 2,373 adults up over last year”s 2,284 adult tickets. Attendance has grown in each of the past four years since a chilly 2009. The event benefits salmonoid restoration causes, from reviving spawning grounds on James Creek and Big River to counting salmon in the Usal Forest to giving Fort Bragg Middle School students the chance to do riparian restoration at Otis Johnson Wilderness Park.
The past and the future loomed large at the 41st Annual World”s Largest Salmon Barbecue.
“The world is a little bit smaller without Jere Melo,” said Congressman Mike Thompson in a tribute to the murdered councilman to whom the event was dedicated.
Thompson, who will no longer represent Fort Bragg after November, as a result of redrawing of districts, remembered how he was invited to speak 22 years ago when he was in the state senate but was asked instead to work flipping salmon. Every year but one he worked all day in pit number two, with Melo, who supervised the grilling every year; there were when he arrived and he left.
A large image of a smiling Melo presided over the event where the Jere Melo Foundation had a booth. Organizers also remembered the late Vern Piver, a local civic and Native American leader who barbecued every year for more than 35 years.
The future was represented in the line of commercial salmon fishing boats moored in Noyo Harbor, many joining or watching the barbecue. Salmon are returning to the Klamath and Sacramento River systems in greater numbers this year than in any of the past five years, biologists say.
“We are seeing something from fishermen this year we haven”t seen in a while smiles,” said Lori French, who once again had the booth for Faces of California Fishing, an effort which she started to photograph fishermen and their wives. It has grown into a much broader source of information about fishing online.
Commercial salmon season opens in Fort Bragg July 15. Boats from Oregon and Central California were already parked in the harbor next to the barbecue.
“Next week you are going to see a real fishing boat traffic jam here,” French said.
Fishing will be allowed off Fort Bragg from July 15 to 29, or until 18,000 salmon are caught; August is open in the Fort Bragg area until 9,375 fish are caught.
While salmon fishing has improved, the limited quotas are just one sign of how much more work is needed. Fishermen and scientists agree that much more work is needed on rivers and the ocean to recreate the sustainable fishery that once sustained the Coast and fed millions.
French said some great days for fishermen have been followed by flops. Recreational boats report many salmon but only scattered limits and some dry days.
French was furiously texting her family who were fishing out at sea while she was “manning” the booth at the barbecue.
Catching anything?
The text to French read “Feed but no Fish.” In other words, there were minnows in the water to eat but no salmon eating them.
Weather was predicted to be hot for Saturday”s event. For the first two hours it was sunny, then the fog rolled in. But the weather remained warmish. Last year, the crowd picked up at the sunny end of the day and the event had to be prolonged by an hour to deal with the big late influx of people and warm weather. In 2012, the crowd came early and nobody was in line at the foggy end.
About 3,000 people use the packed South Noyo Harbor District barbecue grounds throughout the day every year, with some passing up the ticket booth just for the beer, wine and music from the likes of Earl Oliver, the Groovinators, Rockfish and Steven Bates and Friends.
Most come from inland areas beyond the county borders, but the faces of these inland eaters have started to become familiar. Many are back for their 10th or 20th or even 30th time. The Lunde clan of Redding and San Francisco was back, after missing 2011. They are visible for their big American flags and red, white and blue outfits.
Councilman Scott Deitz and Doug Hammerstrom, Vice mayor Meg Courtney, Sheriff Tom Allman, Councilman and Supervisor-elect Dan Gjerde, supervisors Kendall Smith and Dan Hamburg were all working.
Smith, who is leaving the board of supervisors said she would love to return next year for the fun and work if she stays in town. Smith, who first came in 1997 when she was Thompson”s area representative, said the combination of fishermen, environmentalists, great information booths from timber companies, government agencies and thousands of people having fun sends a great message.
“The combination of restoration, education and celebration of salmon and salmon fishing in a fun environment makes this a unique event,” Smith said.
“And it creates a steady stream of repeat tourism, people who enjoy the experience and can learn from it while benefitting the community,” she said.
Having “celebrity chefs” like supervisors, judges and councilmen was the idea of the fishermen who started the barbecue as a way of getting local civic figures down into the harbor where they can see and hear about the plight of fish and fishing.
The SRA had the idea this year to honor Melo and say goodbye to Thompson and hello to the new congressman. The SRA invited the three finalists in the November election, but only Democrat Jared Huffman came. Second place finisher Republican Dan Roberts did not respond to email and phoned invitations. Democrat Norman Solomon, who was still in the running at the time of the invitations, responded by saying he had other commitments.
The bulk of the work is borne by over 200 volunteers from more than a dozen local civic groups. Bill Townsend, 95, comes every year from Ukiah to Fort Bragg as a volunteer cook for the annual Salmon Restoration Association fundraiser, always scheduled for first Saturday in July.
Townsend has flipped fish for free for 40 summers now, missing just one. As with most sportsmen, he is dedicated both to restoration and fun.
Townsend comes with a group from the Ukiah Rod and Gun Club, one of many civic organizations that provide groups of volunteers for the fundraiser.
Others included Fort Bragg Rotary Club, Fort Bragg Soroptimist Club, Fort Bragg Knights of Columbus, Fort Bragg Lions Club and more.
SRA President Joe Janisch said one of the biggest fundraisers comes from North Coast Brewing, which donates all the beer and staff to serve it.
This year Salmon Restoration sponsored its second annual educational film festival at Town Hall on Friday and Saturday.
The 2012 festival showed 30-plus films, including top films from 2011. Some people stopped for one or two short films, but many stayed for hours, said event organizer Jeanine Pfeiffer.
“A significant portion of festival attendees stayed to watch over three hours of films,” said Pfeiffer.
Organizers initiated “Festival Champions,” speakers from local restoration related organizations who sent speakers to the festival. Partners included Mendocino Land Trust, Jug Handle Creek Farm & Educational Center, Mendocino Area Parks Association, and the California Conservation Corps. Salmon Water Now! filmmaker Bruce Tokars was on hand to introduce two of his films.
The SRA served 145 kid meals and 2,373 adult meals for a total of 2,518 salmon dinners. Hot dogs were more popular than ever, as the SRA ran out twice.
The most common question people ask about the barbecue is where the fish comes from. The SRA has always purchased fish locally from Caito Fisheries, which also lends equipment, space and other helps.
More information is at www.sra.org.
