[env-trinity] Congressman George Miller Thanked For Protecting Fishing and Farming Jobs

[Byron Leydecker]

PRESS RELEASE



Water 4Fish ● Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association

Northern California Federation of Fly Fishers ● Crab Boat Owners
Association

American Sportfishing Association ● Northern California Federation of Fly
Fishers

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations ● Salmon Aid
Foundation

 California Sportfishing Protection Alliance ● California Striped Bass
Association ● Fish Sniffer Magazine





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 13, 2009

CONTACT: Dick Pool (925) 963-6350

                     Robert Johnson (925) 580-4480

                     Mike Hudson (510) 407-2000

                     Zeke Grader (415) 606-5140



Congressman George Miller Thanked For Protecting Fishing and Farming Jobs



Sustainable Farms and Fisheries Critical for Nation’s Food Security,
Economy

Say Fishing Leaders Praising Miller’s Leadership



Concord, CA - Leaders from California’s recreational and commercial fishing
fleets met this morning at U.S. Representative George Miller’s Concord
field office to praise the Northern California Congressman’s three plus
decades of work to protect fishery resources and sustainable farm lands and
the jobs, food production and economic benefit they represent.



“No one in America has worked harder on behalf of those who toil in the
fields or at sea - those who bring to the tables of the nation the bounty of
our lands and waters - than Congressman George Miller,” said Zeke Grader,
Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s
Associations representing working men and women in the West Coast commercial
fishing fleet. “We felt it was time to express our gratitude during a time
when America’s oldest industry -fishing - and the very fish it relies on
are under attack.”



Miller, who was past chairman of the old House Interior Committee and
currently a member of the House Resources Committee has championed
sustainable food production, including the protection of the nation’s fish
and the jobs they represent, along with fair wages for labor working in fish
processing plants in the U.S. and its territories.



“Today we offer a special thanks to Congressman George Miller for his three
decades of leadership on California water and environmental issues.  He has
worked tirelessly to see that we



have clean water, a healthy delta and water policies that will ensure future
supplies for all sectors

of the economy.  We support George 100 percent in his continuing efforts to
enact these

policies,” said Dick Pool, a fishing gear manufacturer, board member of the
American Sportfishing Association and leader of the Water4fish campaign.



Pool continued, saying “the salmon industry is one of the leading food and
economic producers in the state.  Yet, there are many who advocate that the
salmon are unworthy of having the water and conditions they need to survive
and prosper.  We beg to differ.  A new economic study shows that the state
is already losing $1.4 billion annually and 23,000 jobs because the salmon
industry is shut down for lack of the water and habitat these fish need to
survive.  If the salmon industry is brought back to full production, 94,000
new jobs will be created and $5.6 billion of economic benefit will accrue to
the state.  We know of no other food sector that can match this opportunity
without severe environmental damage. ”



Mike Hudson is the President of the Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen's
Association, representing the interests of small family owned fishing
businesses along the California Coast, and is Executive Director of the
SalmonAid Foundation, uniting commercial, recreational and tribal fishermen
with environmental organizations, chefs and the American consumer.



"Salmon are a renewable resource - just add water!"  Hudson added to Pool’s
comments. “Okay, it's not quite as simple as that, but it's the first step
we must take in order to recover our thriving salmon populations - put water
back in our rivers and the salmon will rebound. We have all supported the
fishing closures over the last 2 years, and suffered massive economic
deprivation to do our part to save the salmon and hopefully some day our own
way of life - but without water in our rivers, our sacrifice may have been
for naught."

Dr. Mark Rockwell, who is a member of the Northern California Council of Fly
Fishers and the Endangered Species Coalition, stated "the Salmon fishery has
been closed for the past two years because of imbalances in the way we have
managed water.  The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is America's most popular
environmental law, with more than 89 percent of Americans favorable to it.
It is designed to guide us in our land and water use actions so we don't
cause extinction to fish or wildlife,” said Rockwell.  “Our salmon
fisheries are close to extinction today, and it is all of our responsibility
to take the actions necessary to recovery them."

Congressman Miller has been stalwart standing up for the nation’s
environmental laws that are essential to the protection of the nation’s
waters, its fish and farmlands, including the Endangered Species Act, the
Clean Water Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management
Act. Those natural resource laws in turn protect fishing and farming jobs
and the food production, economies and enjoyment they represent, according
to the fishing groups.

Gary R. Adams, who is Vice President of the California Striped Bass
Association State Board,

said, “how soon we forget the true meaning of Public Trust doctrine found
in our constitution.  It is George Miller that has epitomized the very
essence that all of our fisheries and citizens must have adequate clean
water to survive and thrive,” said Adams.  “It is he that understands that
when a fishermen fishes for fish, that it is much more than the fish he
seeks.  It is a piece of heritage that extends beyond the first time that
man broke the soil with a plough.”

"Salmon is the best food,” said community organizer and active Delta
recreational fisherman Robert Johnson, Jr. “Ultimately salmon are about
people and they rely on healthy water flows and when in trouble, the
Endangered Species Act.  Congressman Miller has long recognized that and we
thank him today for his great leadership.”



Attention Press:  Fishing groups that have signed on to this press release
will be available for interviews at Congressman George Miller’s Concord
office.  The groups will be outside the office at 0900 on 13 August 2009.
Congressman Miller’s Office is located at 1333 Willow Pass Road, Suite 203,
Concord, CA 94520.







Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land

415 519 4810 cell

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(secondary)

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