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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Saving
the salmon fishing industry<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Santa
Cruz Sentinel-4/11/10<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By
Zeke Grader<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Opinion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>For
two years, sport and commercial fishermen along 1,000 miles of coastline in
California and Oregon have been precluded from fishing for Central Valley
salmon because of the steep declines in salmon populations. The primary reason
was water diversions from the state and federal pumps in the Delta that, until
the recent drought, have increased over time. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Many
factors have contributed to the historic collapse of the California and Oregon
salmon fishery. However, the operations of the State Water Project SWP and
Central Valley Project CVP have played a critical and central role in the
decline of salmon and the health of our rivers, streams, bays and estuary. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The
Central Valley fall-run chinook salmon is the backbone of the commercial and
recreational salmon fishery, producing the vast majority of the salmon caught
in these states. In 2009, and in the absence of any fishing, total returns of
hatchery and naturally spawning salmon in the Central Valley reached a record
low: 39,500 fish. This figure is far less than the minimum population of
122,000 fish necessary to sustain the fishery and a tiny fraction of historic
levels. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Earlier
this month, more than 500 people attended an overflow meeting in San Francisco
to tell their personal stories and to make their business case for saving water
for chinook salmon and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>While
the fishermen did make a compelling case, what became apparent was the ripple effect
on California's and Oregon's economy from years of salmon fishing decline,
punctuated by the past two years of the salmon closure. Not only are fishermen
and women facing hard times, but so are tackle and boat shops, harbors, charter
boat operators, harbors, restaurants and wholesale seafood suppliers. In
addition, many seafood consumers miss healthy, local wild salmon on their
plates. In total, the chinook salmon closure has cost hundreds of millions of
dollars and thousands of jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A
recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California concluded that the
survival of the salmon fishery is in jeopardy unless we change the way we
manage water exports in the Delta. It also concluded that there is a 70 to 90
percent chance that the fall-run salmon fishery would be not viable in 2050,
assuming that future diversions match previous averages. The export of millions
of acre-feet of water through the Central Valley Project and State Water
Project pumps in the South Delta harm salmon in a variety of ways. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Prior
to the new Biological Opinion and U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger's 2007
ruling that Delta pumping restrictions were necessary to protect endangered
species, and immediately prior to the collapse of the salmon fishery, the state
and federal pumps reached record highs in total Delta exports.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>If
water exports are not brought into balance, the likelihood of sustaining the
fishery would decrease even further. We can, and must, do a better job of
managing the Central Valley Project and State Water Project to protect and
restore salmon populations, as well as the communities and businesses that
depend upon them. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>This
effort begins with maintaining the protections in the salmon and smelt
biological opinions. It also starts with pushing back on the political pressure
from some Central Valley agribusinesses and elected officials who only listen
to agriculture's demands for more water. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>On
April 15, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council will meet in Portland to
decide on a limited season for commercial salmon fishing. After two consecutive
cancellations of salmon fishing off the California coast, a third year of
closure is possible. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>However,
there may be a small, perhaps token, season for commercial salmon fishermen
this year. A short sport season for salmon that began last Saturday is
scheduled to last only through the end of this month -- a short respite for a
struggling industry. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It's
time to stop siding with special interests who are demanding unreasonable and
unsustainable amounts of water for the Central Valley. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Zeke
Grader is executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land/fax (call first to fax)</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
mobile</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>

<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>

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