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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Relief sought for salmon fishermen;
Thompson, Woolsey bill urges federal disaster aid to industry hurt by likely
shortened season<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Santa Rosa Press Democrat – 4/24/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Katy Hillenmeyer, staff writer</span></font></b><font
size=4 color="#435e8f"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#435E8F'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>North</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font size=4><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Coast</st1:PlaceType>
lawmakers will seek $81 million in federal disaster relief for <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>
fishing communities where salmon fishing will be severely curtailed this year,
a spokesman for Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said Sunday.<br>
<br>
At a rally of fishermen in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:City></st1:place> this morning, Thompson and co-sponsors plan
to unveil the legislation, which would cover losses suffered by commercial
fleets and related businesses that face drastic cuts in their season.<br>
<br>
The restrictions are designed to protect dwindling numbers of chinook that
spawn in the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place>. Thompson, a critic
of the Bush administration's management of the river, also wants Congress to
appropriate $45 million for Klamath restoration under the proposal, Thompson
spokesman Matt Gerien said.<br>
<br>
"Not only do we have a bill that will help the fishermen who are affected,"
said Gerien, "we also have recovery legislation so this isn't a problem
year after year." He noted Reps. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and George
Miller, D-Martinez, are co-sponsors.<br>
<br>
But it's uncertain whether Thompson's latest bid to bolster the hard-hit
fishing industry will succeed. Although he worked for a year to expedite a
disaster declaration for the 2005 salmon season, which was cut 60 percent,
federal regulators found no justification for relief.<br>
<br>
"This year's season was even worse than last year's," Gerien said
Sunday when asked about the new measure's prospects.<br>
<br>
Woolsey and Miller could not be reached Sunday for comment but were listed
among those invited to today's rally of commercial, sport and tribal fishermen
at Pier 47.<br>
<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Fort</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Bragg</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> fisherman Jim Martin, skipper of
an 18-foot recreational salmon boat, planned to participate, although the
proposed bill focuses primarily on commercial fishing and related businesses.<br>
<br>
"I don't think it will help the private recreational fleet," said
Martin, the Recreational Fishing Alliance's West Coast regional director.
"But we're better off standing together as fishermen."<br>
<br>
Federal regulators are expected by next Monday to finalize an advisory panel's
ocean salmon fishing recommendations, which cover 700 miles of <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>
coastline. As drafted, the rules would postpone commercial harvests of wild
salmon off <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bodega</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType> until July 26 and off <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Fort</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bragg</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
until Sept. 1.<br>
<br>
Normally, the season would run May through at least September.<br>
<br>
After years of drought, a massive salmon die-off in 2002 and successive
spawning shortfalls, "the goal, of course, is to let salmon rebound so we
don't have this roller coaster ... year after year," said Todd Ungerecht,
a policy adviser for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<br>
<br>
Ungerecht said NOAA officials have not reviewed Thompson's latest proposal and
were not in a position to begin assessing economic effects, given the complex
patchwork of season lengths, catch limits and other restrictions that are pending
from <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Cape</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Falcon</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
to Point Sur.<br>
<br>
"I'm not saying there isn't a desire to assist communities,"
Ungerecht said, noting parameters for the season have yet to be finalized.
"But when it comes to the areas where they are allowing fishing, it'll take
some time to figure."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Advisor, California Trout, Inc</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>http:www.caltrout.org</span></font></u><font
color=lime><span style='color:lime'> </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
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12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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