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©2007 Cascadia Times
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Dulcich’s insider access
Pacific Seafood has had its eye on a share of the groundfish fishery for several years, and has been pushing Congress to help out. From 2002-2007, Pacific together with its trade group, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, has spent more than $1 million on lobbying Congress, according to opensecrets.org. The money went to the Gallatin Group.
Environmental Defense's Thomas said her group's great concern about processor quotas is comparable to the amount effort the seafood processing industry has invested into obtaining catch shares for itself.
“I think that if the processors weren't so well organized and had made such a huge push in many forums I don't know if we would be making the type of investment” that has been made.
Frank Dulcich, president and CEO of Pacific Seafood, said in a letter to the Pacific council two years ago that a catch share system “is one of the highest priorities” of West Coast processors.
Dulcich was lobbying in favor of Senate Bill 1549, sponsored by Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon. The bill, which did not pass, would have forced the Pacific council to enact a quota share system that provided shares to both harvesters and processors.
Another bill, a reauthorization of the nation's major ocean law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, did pass. This law leaves it up to the nation's eight regional fishery councils to decide whether to include processors in their catch share programs.
Since 2005, Dulcich has had insider access to regional fishery council that serves this region, the Pacific council. That year Rod Moore took a seat. Moore, a former staff member for Alaska Congressman Don Young, was nominated to the Pacific council by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
Pacific Seafood lobbied the governor to seal the nomination. At a meeting at a Pacific Seafood plant in Newport in December 2004, three Pacific Seafood officials called the governor, through his natural resource advisor, Jim Myron, with a pitch on Moore's behalf.
Moore's name, along with two others, was forwarded the Commerce Department for final selection. Few were surprised that Moore got the job; Dulcich had played a role in Bush's election in 2000 by bundling more than $100,000 in contributions.
Radtke was up for re-appointment also a nominee. He said he was told by two high-level sources that the decision to appoint Moore came directly from the White House.
Since joining the council, Moore has pushed for an increase in catch limits. In 2006, he asked the council for a substantial increase in whiting catch limits, even though the fishery was teetering on the brink of being overfished. His motion, which would have benefited Pacific Seafood by providing it with more fish to process, was defeated.
In the future, Moore will likely be casting more votes that impact the financial interests of his employer, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, or its members.
Pacific Seafood is not just a member. Dulcich, its CEO, is the seafood processors association's president.
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