[env-trinity] Fort Bragg Advocate and Monterey Herald on Salmon Disaster/Restoration Legislation

[Byron]

SALMON FISHERIES:

Thompson seeks $81 million in aid for commercial fishermen

Fort Bragg Advocate-News - 4/27/06

By Frank Hartzell, staff writer

 

More than 100 commercial, recreational and tribal fishermen came to a Monday
rally in support of commercial fishing at Pier 47 in San Francisco,
according to media reports. Some trolling boats also attended, displaying
more banners, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

 

The Mendocino Coast Congressman, Mike Thompson, took the occasion to
announce a bill he has authored that would aid commercial fishermen and
related businesses. 

 

Reps.Thompson and Lynn Woolsey announced the bill together at the rally; it
is expected to be introduced this week. 

 

"The Bush Administration's gross mismanagement of the Klamath River has led
to this year's and last year's shortened salmon season," Thompson said, in a
press release. "Yet, the administration isn't offering any assistance to the
affected fishing communities nor do they have a plan to restore the salmon.
That is why tomorrow we will be introducing legislation that would offer $81
million in federal assistance. It will also contain measures to revive the
Klamath salmon and hold this administration accountable to ensure they
cannot manipulate the river for political gain ever again." 

 

Ben Platt, a second-generation commercial fisherman from Fort Bragg
presented Thompson with an 8,000-signature petition calling for the
reopening of the salmon season. Platt was widely quoted and photographed by
the media, as the rally got national coverage. Platt has the "Kay Bee" in
Noyo Harbor. 

 

The bill has three components: 

 

- It would provide $81 million in emergency appropriations for impacted
commercial fishermen and related businesses in the region. The Department of
Commerce would distribute the assistance through the Pacific States Marine
Fisheries Commission. 

 

- It would direct the 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. 

 

- The Department of Commerce would be required to report to Congress on the
progress of the Klamath on a yearly basis. 

 

In 2002, water diversions on the Klamath River resulted in a record fish
kill that claimed 80,000 adult salmon the next fall. Experts have directly
attributed the adult fish kill and a parasitic infection affecting spring
juveniles, resulting from poor federal management of the river, as being
responsible for the low salmon returns estimated for this year. 

 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said: "The oceans are under siege - all
around the world, fish populations are dropping sharply. We must bring back
the fish, river-by-river, and region-by-region. Here in California and
Oregon, we must all work together - fishermen, tribes, scientists, farmers
and political leaders at the local, state, and federal level. I am proud to
be a co-sponsor of Congressman Thompson's new legislation, which will
provide disaster assistance and ensure funding for the recovery and
restoration of the Klamath salmon." 

 

The Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended on April 6 that the 2006
commercial salmon season be drastically reduced. The decision will severely
affect ocean and in-river salmon fisheries along 700 miles of coastline,
from Point Falcon, Oregon to Big Sur. The economic impact to coastal
communities is expected to be devastating. 

 

Bill aims to help salmon industry Salmon industry focus of relief bill

Monterey Herald - 4/27/06

 

U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., with Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., have introduced legislation to provide financial relief to
salmon fishers, tribes and related industries, and support recovery efforts
for wild salmon populations in the Klamath River.

 

The Pacific Fishery Management Council has recommended a 90 percent closure
of the commercial salmon fishing season along a 700-mile stretch of the
California and Oregon coasts this year, an action that would impact sport
and commercial fishermen and the businesses that the fishing industry
supports.

 

The Salmon Assistance and Recovery Act would:

 

. Provide $81 million in funding for commercial fishers, tribes and related
businesses impacted by the restricted fishing season.

 

. Secure $45 million for immediate conservation measures on the Klamath
River, including requiring the National Marine Fisheries Service to produce
a recovery plan for the salmon population within six months, and to install
and update stream gauges and monitoring equipment, improve river habitat and
build fish passage projects, and add NMFS staff and resources to better
track and study the Klamath River's salmon in rivers and oceans.

 

. Require the fisheries service to submit an annual report updating Congress
on the progress of its efforts to boost water quantity, improve water
quality and increase salmon populations on the Klamath River.

 

 

Byron Leydecker

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Advisor, California Trout, Inc

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org

http://www.fotr.org

http:www.caltrout.org 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20060427/326cf8e7/attachment.html>