[env-trinity] Salmon Fishermen Rally For Disaster Relief and River Restoration!

[Byron]

Mike Thompson Unveils Disaster Relief Legislation at Salmon Rally

 

by Dan Bacher

 

Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), before a boisterous rally attended
by around 200 commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and tribal
fishermen at San Francisco's Fishermen's Wharf on April 26,  

unveiled disaster relief legislation for salmon fishermen impacted by this
year's slashed commercial fishing season.

 

The legislation will provide $81 million for impacted commercial fishermen
and fishery-related businesses in coastal communities in   California and
Oregon.  The Department of Commerce would distribute the assistance through
the Pacific Marine States Fisheries Commission.

 

Thompson's bill would also direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to
complete a Klamath salmon recovery plan within six months of the bill's
passage. After the completion of the plan, $45 million would be allocated
for conservation projects such as stream gauges and monitoring equipment,
fish passage projects and additional NOAA fisheries staff and resources to
better track and study Klamath River salmon, according to Thompson.

 

The introduction of the legislation was spurred by requests for disaster
relief by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and other
commercial fishing organizations that have been ignored by the Bush
administration to date.

 

"The Bush administration's gross mismanagement of the Klamath River has led
to this year's and last year's shortened salmon season," Thompson, the
bill's author, stated. "Yet the administration isn't offering any assistance
to the affected communities nor do they have a plan to restore the salmon."

 

Thompson and representatives of fishing organizations and Klamath River
Indian tribes all emphasized the importance of salmon to the culture,
tradition and economy of California. Fishermen, in front of Scoma's
Restaurant on Pier 47, held signs with slogans including  "Don't Kill Our
Salmon Fleet," "Will Work For Salmon," "Fix the Real Problem - Impeach
Bush," and "Bush Destroys Salmon Runs For Agribusiness." Behind the rally
stage, party boats including the Lovely March displayed banners such as
"Pacific Power: Un-Dam the  Klamath."

 

"Salmon fishing represents the heart and soul of where we live," said
Thompson. "It's also business along the coast of California, coastal Oregon
and in the Central Valley. We don't want to point fingers, we  

want to take care of the problems and fix the problems of the Klamath
River."

 

The current slashing of commercial salmon season and a reduced recreational
season are the results of the fish kills of 2002 and the unhealthy state of
the river. Ever since Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, diverted
Klamath water that year to fields in the Klamath Basin, tribes and fishermen
warned the administration that  

fish kills would occur. Hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon died in
disease spurred by low, warm conditions in the river in the spring of 2002,
while as many as 80,000 adult salmon died that September.

 

Since that time, the change in water policy by the Department of Interior
and the resulting poor water conditions have resulted in the deaths of the
majority of juvenile salmon migrating down the river, due to the infestation
of a parasite, C. Shasta, that thrives in degraded water conditions. Even if
all recreational and commercial  salmon fishing was closed, the escapement
floor goal of 35,000 Klamath fish is not expected to be met.

 

Ironically, commercial fishermen are being being kept off the water in spite
of a relatively robust ocean salmon population. The forecasted 2006 ocean
abundance of Central Valley chinooks is 632,482  fish, according to the
Pacific Fishery Management Council.  However, the fish mix together when
they swim off the California and  

Oregon coast, so the fishing regulations are based on protecting the least
abundant stocks.

 

Although some may have been surprised by this year's salmon season cuts,
Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen's Associations, and others who have closely followed the  Klamath
water battles aren't.

 

"It was no surprise when the fish kills of 2002 took place," said Grader.
It was no surprise when juvenile salmon died in 2003, 2004 and 2005 from
disease. We warned the Bush administration that there was trouble ahead, but
were met with indifference, inaction and silence. We now have a disaster on
hand, and what's the administration's answer? To close us down!"

 

Other Bay Area Members of Congress, including George Miller, Lynn Woolsey,
Anna Eshoo and House Leader Nancy Pelosi, are cosponsoring the bill. Lynn
Woolsey addressed the rally herself, while staff members of Miller's,
Eshoo's and Pelosi's office read letters announcing their co-sponsorship of
Thompson's bill. Michelle Moss, staff member for Senator Barbara Boxer, also
announced that Boxer is introducing a companion bill to the House bill in
the Senate.

 

"When you have a healthy river, you have fish, and that's good for local
communities, the commercial fishing industry, recreational anglers, tribes
and the entire West Coast," said Miller in his letter. "The bill we're
introducing in congress will help everyone that depends upon a healthy
salmon population."

 

"I share the outrage of commercial and sport fishermen up and down the
Pacific Coast," said Rep. Anna Eshoo. "In Half Moon Bay in my Congressional
District, members of the small commercial and sport fishing fleet are
fighting for their livelihoods. Along with my colleagues, I'm with them in
this fight."

 

Former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey, who is now running against
Rep. Richard Pombo in the upcoming primary election, is strongly supporting
Thompson's bill. "If Pombo doesn't co-sponsor this bill, I will make his
refusal a big part of my campaign," McCloskey said.

 

Party boat skippers and representatives of recreational fishing groups
showed up at the rally in support of disaster relief for commercial
fishermen and restoring the Klamath River.

 

"All of the speeches today have boiled down to 4 words - it's the river,
stupid," said Mar Gorelnick, spokesman for the Coastside Fishing Club.
Gorelnick noted that while the PFMC approved a relatively intact
recreational fishing season, commercial fishermen are facing a "joke of a
season."

 

"Coastside Fishing Club strongly supports Thompson's legislation," he
stated. "We consider any threat to the recreational salmon trollers as a
threat also to the commercial fishermen.  Recreational anglers stand
shoulder to shoulder with commercial and tribal fishing to get the river
fixed."

 

Roger Thomas, president of the Golden Gate Fishermen's Association, stressed
that the party boat fishing industry, along with the commercial fleet,
represent a "valuable economic contributor" to all of the ports and all of
the communities in California. "The commercial fishermen need to be in
business and stay in business," he  

stated.

 

Other recreational fishing representatives at the rally included Bob
Strickland, president of United Anglers of California; Jim Martin, West
Coast Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance; and Craig Stone,
manager of the Emeryville Sportfishing Center and charter boat
representative of the Salmon Advisory Subpanel (SAS) of PFMC.

 

Likewise, representatives of the Karuk and Yurok Indian tribes affirmed
their solidarity with commercial fishermen and support for Thompson's bill.

 

"My people and your people are both at risk," said Ron Reed, a Karuk Tribe
cultural biologist who dip nets salmon below Ishi-Pishi Falls in the
traditional manner. "What affects my people affects you and your people. Our
tribe of 3,000 members harvested less than 100 salmon below Ishi-Pishi Falls
in 2004 and 200 fish in 2005. This has had a devastating impact on our way
of life."

 

"I see the pain on the faces of the people in this crowd, just like I saw
the pain on the farmers' faces when their water was cut off in 2001," he
emphasized.

 

Reed urged fishermen to support the t battle to take down the 4 Klamath
River dams as a major step in restoring the fishery. The Tribes and other
parties are currently in negotiations with PacifiCorp to develop a
settlement agreement to determine the fate of the dams.

 

He described the current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dam
re-licensing process as "something that only happens once every 50 years. It
presents all of us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore the
Klamath by having the dams removed."

 

Troy Fletcher, consultant for the Yurok Tribe, said the tribe supports
disaster relief - and reiterated the call that he made at the April PFMC
meeting in Sacramento to form a "blue collar panel." This panel, made up of
fishermen, farmers and others "whose hands touch the water," should be
tasked with developing recommendations on how fishing dependent communities
can survive this and anticipated closures in upcoming years.

 

"There's no silver bullet that will have us feeling better tomorrow," said
Fletcher. "We need to form this panel to form a bridge between today and the
time when we get more fish into the river. There won't be more fish next
year nor the following year - and we need to make sure that communities
depending on salmon survive in the meantime."

 

At press time, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez still hadn't made his
decision on whether to  approve the recreational and commercial fishing
seasons adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management  Council on April 7.

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