[4] Feds Declare West Coast Salmon Fisheries Official Failure

NOAA Fisheries officials briefed the press last Thursday to explain why they have accepted recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Council to shut down most West Coast salmon fishing this year and declare a "fishery failure."

Only a small hatchery coho fishery will take place off northern Oregon, and modest chinook and coho fishing will be allowed off the Washington coast.

According to Northwest regional administrator Bob Lohn, this means the fall chinook run in the Sacramento River is expected to be 90 percent less than the average numbers over the past five years. In economic terms, that would mean a direct loss of $22 million to fishermen, and a $60-million loss in personal revenues, when processing and recreational fishing factors are added.

The declaration of a "fishery failure" by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez paves the way for all three West Coast governors to head for Congress and lobby for disaster aid. The governors have already said the fishery's collapse would mean an overall $290-million hit to the economies in their states.

"The unprecedented collapse of the salmon population will hit fishermen, their families, and fishing communities hard, and that is why we have moved quickly to declare a fishery disaster," said Gutierrez. "Our scientists are working to better understand the effects that ocean changes have on salmon populations. We are also working closely with fishing communities to improve salmon habitat in river systems to support sustainable fishing." -B. R.

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