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<P class=MsoNormal><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">NORTH</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:PlaceName><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">COAST</st1:PlaceType></SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> SALMON FISHERY
RELIEF:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Editorial:
Big words, little help by Congress for fishing<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Eureka</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Times-Standard – 12/18/06</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">There were
a whole lot of words from Congress in the recently closed session but not a lot
of money where its mouth is concerning fisheries assistance.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The good
news was that the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the
nation's foremost ocean fisheries law, was renewed, and included a
precedent-setting order for federal fishery managers to fast-track a plan for
recovery of endangered coho salmons runs in the Klamath River.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The bad
news is that senators and House members adjourned without funding disaster
relief for fishermen and associated businesses hurt by the nearly total closure
of the 2006 salmon season off the Pacific coast from <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Morro</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType> to
the Columbia River -- including <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Humboldt</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
spending bill for emergency aid was the victim of the post-election paranoia
about special-interest earmarks related to the Abramoff scandal. The aid could
have been part of temporary measures to keep the government funded through
mid-February, but lawmakers closed that door for fear it would open the door to
billions of dollars in farm subsidies. Ironically, the Magnuson-Stevens Act
included a $25 million federal loan to help buy out some of the seine-boat
salmon fishermen in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:State> to thin their ranks. The <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Alaska</st1:place></st1:State> situation is a
self-inflicted wound caused by overfishing of pink salmon. (The co-sponsor of
the act, by the way, is Senator Ted Stevens of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Alaska</st1:State></st1:place>.) <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The salmon
disaster on the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">North</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Coast</st1:PlaceType>, on the other hand, was caused in large part by
federal mismanagement of the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place>
spawning waters that spread parasites that killed thousands of salmon in 2002
and 2003. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The crews
of more than 1,000 fishing boats in <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>
depend upon coho for much of their income. The crab season looks as if it will
be a good one, but not all fishermen benefit from that catch, and salmon runs
also are expected to remain low for the 2007 season.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The new
Congress must act quickly to fund assistance to keep the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">North</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Coast</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> fishing industry viable in the short
term, but also should keep the pressure on the federal government to follow
through on a long-term turnaround to protect the endangered coho salmon. #<BR
clear=all></SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="">http://www.times-standard.com/opinion/ci_4859994</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">####<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>