<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><img height="480" width="644" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:EDBA8CFF-0D6C-486B-B7C2-A8BC5E15C32B"></div><div><br></div><div>Photo of Larry Collins with a salmon at the press conference courtesy of the No on Prop. 1 campaign.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/04/1334311/-Ocean-Fishermen-Say-Proposition-1-Would-Destroy-Salmon-Fishery">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/04/1334311/-Ocean-Fishermen-Say-Proposition-1-Would-Destroy-Salmon-Fishery</a></div><div><br></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6">Ocean Fishermen Say Proposition 1 Would Destroy Salmon Fishery</font></div><div><br></div><div>by Dan Bacher </div><div><br></div>If you think that the November election doesn’t have anything to do with salmon and other ocean fishing, please think again. The results of this year’s vote on Proposition 1, Governor Jerry Brown’s water bond that bails out corporate agribusiness interests, has EVERYTHING to do with the future of ocean (and freshwater) fishing!<div><br></div><div>To get this message across, ocean salmon fishermen on Friday, October 3 announced their opposition to Proposition 1, the State Water Bond, at a news conference at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.</div><div><br></div><div>“Prop. 1 is one more shovel of dirt on the grave of our salmon, crab and other Pacific fisheries,” said Larry Collins, of the San Francisco Crab Boat Association. “Building more dams to hold water we don’t have is misplaced spending and harms the businesses, families and communities that depend upon our salmon, crab and other fisheries. The salmon and crab that are essential to our Northern California diet and culture will eventually disappear from our dinner plates if Proposition 1 passes in the November election.” </div><div><br></div><div>Proposition 1 is a bad investment for California and a $14 billion burden to taxpayers, according to Collins. It does not mitigate the effects of drought, and it does nothing to establish long-term water self-sufficiency. It takes needed funds away from education, health and other priorities. </div><div><br></div><div>“Prop. 1 will not solve our water problems. Proposition 1 continues down the road of overpromising water for big ag, over-pumping the Delta to serve unsustainable mega-farms and robbing our fisheries of the water needed to sustain our seafood production,” said Mike Hudson, of the Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association. </div><div> </div><div>“Prop. 1 will divert more water from our rivers and streams, and make our environment less stable. Bay and coastal fisheries are dependent on good water quality and fresh water flows from the Delta. Prop. 1’s dam construction starves the Sacramento River, the Delta, and San Francisco Bay of the water flows they need. This will crash our salmon and other fisheries," noted Hudson.</div><div><br></div><div>“Prop. 1 continues to have taxpayers subsidize excessive water diversions from the SF Bay Delta estuary. These water diversions have a massive negative impact on San Francisco Bay and coastal fisheries. Too much water is pumped from the Delta for use by big agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Hudson. </div><div><br></div><div>As Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said, Prop. 1 "is a poster-child of why California is in a water crisis: it enriches water speculators but accomplishes little in addressing the drought, solving California's long-term water needs, reducing reliance on The Delta, or protecting our rivers and fisheries." </div><div><br></div><div>“Vote NO on Proposition 1,” added Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations. “Demand a water bond that invests in the sustainable solutions we need, not deadbeat dams.” </div><div><br></div><div>For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.noonprop1.org/">http://www.noonprop1.org</a> </div><div><br></div><div>It is crucial to understand that Governor Jerry Brown, the primary proponent of Proposition 1, is no friend of salmon, salmon fishermen and fisherwomen, the ocean and the public trust. In addition to his support for this budget-busting Festival of Pork, Brown has relentlessly promoted the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral tunnels, the most environmentally destructive project in California history.</div><div><br></div><div>Brown also forged ahead with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's privately funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. The oil industry lobbyist-overseen Initiative created a network of fake "marine protected areas" that fail to protect the ocean from offshore oil drilling, fracking, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and all human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering. </div><div><br></div><div>To make matters worse, a federal judge in May sentenced Ron LeValley, co-chair of the MLPAI "Science" Advisory Team for the North Coast, to 10 months in federal prison for conspiracy to embezzle $900,000 from the Yurok Tribe. </div><div><br></div><div>For a complete, updated review of Brown's environmental policies, go to: <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/09/24/big-oils-favorite-governor-jerry-brown/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/09/24/big-oils-favorite-governor-jerry-brown/</a> </div></body></html>