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A story of Astoria: an Oregon port that was synonymous with salmon embraces its fishing past and its future.

Article Excerpt
Astoria, Ore., some say, has come a long way since its heyday at the turn of the century when it was recognized as the "Salmon Canning Capital of the World."

The region rode the easygoing swell of plentiful salmon for years until a storm of changes on the Columbia River--both natural and man-made--ended salmon's reign as the king of Astoria's seafood industry. Ocean changes, too, have affected the salmon industry, but it--and the rise of other fisheries--is again helping forge Astoria's future.

"It was automatic--you could get a job in one of the canneries," says Peter Huhtala, executive director of the Astoria-based Pacific Marine Conservation Council. Huhtala, whose name alone is a telltale sign of the region's Finnish heritage, grew up in Astoria in the 1950s, '60s and '70s and watched the recent changes.

Early changes came in the form of inventions, technology and unintended consequences--some enhanced the fishing industry, others contributed to its troubles. Erick Maunula, a cannery equipment expert, invented or improved net-making equipment; Eben Carruthers invented a tuna-packing machine in the 1950s that eliminated hand-packing; and William Warren--the brother of salmon canning pioneer Frank Warren--came up with the idea of a large retort, cooking salmon in a closed kettle filled with steam instead of open-kettle cooking. Astoria wasn't called the "Salmon Canning Capital of the World" for nothing.

Fishing and logging ruled the economy when Huhtala was a kid; but by the '70s, the salmon runs started declining, Bumble Bee and other canneries pulled out and residents began to leave. The city's--and region's--population dropped.

"As I graduated from high school, the attitude shifted," Huhtala says. "The young people of Astoria were expected to leave. There was less and less [opportunity] for young people to make a life in the community where they grew up ... There was an exodus; it affected not only the lives of the people leaving but the fabric of the community and family ties."

Astoria's legacy was built by scores of transient workers in the mid-to-late 1800s. The boats and docks were filled with Finns, Chinese and Scandinavians during the time that was most likely the roughest part of Astoria's past.

"Shanghaied in Astoria," a melodrama put on by the Astor Street Opry Company during the summer, makes light...

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