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<H1 class=articleTitle><A
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<H1 class=articleTitle>Salmon shutdown sends shock waves</H1><!--subtitle--><!--byline-->
<DIV class=articleByline>The Associated Press and The Times-Standard</DIV><!--date-->
<DIV class=articleDate>Article Launched: 04/11/2008 01:24:20 AM
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<P>SACRAMENTO -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of
emergency Thursday after West Coast fisheries managers voted Thursday to cancel
all commercial salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts this year.
<P>He also sought federal disaster assistance from President Bush, and
immediately signed a fisheries bill by North Coast state Senator Pat Wiggins
that had been on his desk. It appropriates about $5.3 million to begin coastal
salmon and steelhead restoration projects.
<P>While banning commercial salmon fishing, the Pacific Fishery Management
Council meeting in Seatac, Wash., decided to allow limited recreational fishing
of coho salmon on holiday weekends off the Oregon coast, but no recreational
fishing off California after several members of the panel argued that every
salmon counts.
<P>Scientists and government officials are expecting this year's West Coast
salmon season to be one of the worst in history, because of the collapse of
Sacramento River chinook, one of the West Coast's biggest wild salmon runs.
<P>The California Department of Fish and Game, at Schwarzenegger's request,
assessed the potential damage from the closure of the salmon season, and
determined the loss to be $255 million and 2,263 California jobs.
<P>Although commercial salmon fishing off the Washington coast is scheduled to
begin May 1, fisheries managers do not predict a good season off either the
north or south Pacific coasts.
<P>”For the entire West Coast, this is the worst in history,” Don McIsaac,
executive director of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, said before
several close votes led to the fisheries plan for 2008. </P>
<P>The council's decision still must be confirmed by NOAA's National Marine
Fisheries Service, the federal agency in charge of salmon management.
<P>Even before the vote, however, officials were on to the next step: disaster
relief for fishermen, said Mariam McCall, an attorney with the fisheries
service.
<P>In addition to Schwarzenegger, the governors of Washington and Oregon also
signed letters seeking a disaster declaration. Congress will be asked to make a
fast decision on money to alleviate the suffering of fishermen and any other
negative effects the cutback might have, said Brian Gorman, a NOAA Fisheries
spokesman.
<P>In March, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, along with 46 senators and
representatives from California, Oregon and Washington called on Commerce
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to give Congress the authorization to distribute
disaster funds to Pacific Coast commercial fishers and related businesses.
<P>”California's salmon runs are a treasured state resource and provide
significant contributions to our economy and our environment,” said
Schwarzenegger. “Today's decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council
underscores our responsibility to quickly free up state and federal resources to
help the fishing industry cope with the devastating economic impacts closing the
season will have.”
<P>Scientists are studying the causes of the Sacramento River chinook collapse,
with possible factors ranging from ocean conditions and habitat destruction to
dam operations and agricultural pollution. But a proposal to allow limited
fishing for scientific purposes was struck down by the panel.
<P>In 2006, the salmon season extending from Cape Falcon, Ore., about 30 miles
south of the mouth of the Columbia River, south to the Mexican border, also was
severely restricted. Congress granted disaster relief totaling $62 million for
fishermen in Oregon and California.
<P>Although the nature of the problem is different this year, the impact will be
at least as broadly felt, McCall said.
<P>”This is such a difficult situation,” she said.<BR
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