Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Published March 08, 2006
Feds urge closure of salmon fishing in California, Oregon
NOAA Fisheries targets 700 miles of coastline in proposal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Federal fish managers told the Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday that salmon fishing in northern California and most of Oregon must not be allowed this season.
The National Marine Fisheries Service recommendation is only one the council must consider as it meets in Seattle this week, but it carries great weight. The council is an advisory body to NMFS, which ultimately sets harvest limits.
Salmon fishing along 700 miles of coastline -- from Oregon's Cape Falcon, just south of the Columbia River, to California's Point Sur, just south of San Francisco -- would be shut down under the recommendation.
If approved, it would be the largest closure of a salmon fishery, said Frank Lockhart, director of NMFS' northwest sustainable fisheries division.
Klamath River chinook populations have fallen well below required limits for the past several years, said NMFS spokesman Peter Dygert -- the main factor driving the closure recommendation.
Dygert encouraged the council to proceed to consider other recommendations, but cautioned that NMFS is unlikely to approve a proposal without an emergency closure.
If the season is closed, the government would work to expedite federal disaster relief for fishermen, Lockhart said.
The salmon season is the focal point of the Seattle meetings.
Attendees were anticipating the guidance from NMFS in a letter last week. By Tuesday, the letter still hadn't been approved by officials in Washington, D.C. Instead, the contents were read to the council.
Fishing off the Washington coast also could be restricted because coho in the Lower Columbia River recently were listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But Dygert said a managed season could be acceptable.
The closure recommendations come as biologists express concern that fewer mature chinook salmon are spawning to replace fish that are dying off.
Dell Simmons, a NMFS biologist, gave the council a bleak picture of salmon populations for the season. For the third year in a row, he said, the number of mature chinook salmon leaving the ocean to spawn in the Klamath River is expected to fall below the 35,000 minimum.
Fishermen, whose livelihoods are at risk, said the problem in the Klamath isn't fishing harvests, it's a sick river.
Fisherman Dave Bitts, vice president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman Associations, a California fishing lobby, said closing the salmon season will be disastrous. One closed season will ruin the fleet, he said, and the businesses that service fishing boats.
"If we can't fish, we're broke," he said.
The council is scheduled to hear additional public comment today. A final recommendation for NMFS is expected when the council meets in April in Sacramento, Calif.
Jim Anderson, spokesman for the California Salmon Council, said lower river levels and warmer river temperatures cause parasites that kill the fish. He pointed to river dams as a major contributor to the problems.
Anderson estimated the value of the salmon business in California alone at $150 million.
"It's getting harder and harder to make a living doing this," said an emotional Matthew O'Donnell of Crescent City, Calif. "It's a shame."
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Feds urge closure of salmon fishing in California, Oregon
NOAA Fisheries targets 700 miles of coastline in proposal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE -- Federal fish managers told the Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday that salmon fishing in northern California and most of Oregon must not be allowed this season.
The National Marine Fisheries Service recommendation is only one the council must consider as it meets in Seattle this week, but it carries great weight. The council is an advisory body to NMFS, which ultimately sets harvest limits.
Salmon fishing along 700 miles of coastline -- from Oregon's Cape Falcon, just south of the Columbia River, to California's Point Sur, just south of San Francisco -- would be shut down under the recommendation.
If approved, it would be the largest closure of a salmon fishery, said Frank Lockhart, director of NMFS' northwest sustainable fisheries division.
Klamath River chinook populations have fallen well below required limits for the past several years, said NMFS spokesman Peter Dygert -- the main factor driving the closure recommendation.
Dygert encouraged the council to proceed to consider other recommendations, but cautioned that NMFS is unlikely to approve a proposal without an emergency closure.
If the season is closed, the government would work to expedite federal disaster relief for fishermen, Lockhart said.
The salmon season is the focal point of the Seattle meetings.
Attendees were anticipating the guidance from NMFS in a letter last week. By Tuesday, the letter still hadn't been approved by officials in Washington, D.C. Instead, the contents were read to the council.
Fishing off the Washington coast also could be restricted because coho in the Lower Columbia River recently were listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But Dygert said a managed season could be acceptable.
The closure recommendations come as biologists express concern that fewer mature chinook salmon are spawning to replace fish that are dying off.
Dell Simmons, a NMFS biologist, gave the council a bleak picture of salmon populations for the season. For the third year in a row, he said, the number of mature chinook salmon leaving the ocean to spawn in the Klamath River is expected to fall below the 35,000 minimum.
Fishermen, whose livelihoods are at risk, said the problem in the Klamath isn't fishing harvests, it's a sick river.
Fisherman Dave Bitts, vice president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman Associations, a California fishing lobby, said closing the salmon season will be disastrous. One closed season will ruin the fleet, he said, and the businesses that service fishing boats.
"If we can't fish, we're broke," he said.
The council is scheduled to hear additional public comment today. A final recommendation for NMFS is expected when the council meets in April in Sacramento, Calif.
Jim Anderson, spokesman for the California Salmon Council, said lower river levels and warmer river temperatures cause parasites that kill the fish. He pointed to river dams as a major contributor to the problems.
Anderson estimated the value of the salmon business in California alone at $150 million.
"It's getting harder and harder to make a living doing this," said an emotional Matthew O'Donnell of Crescent City, Calif. "It's a shame."
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Salmon fishing will likely get worse before it gets better. 
