Commercial fishing boats sit stalled in California and Oregon harbors following a decision by a federal advisory board to ax most of their season, but there is plenty of action in meeting rooms, Congress and a rally planned on the San Francisco waterfront to save commercial fishing.
A public hearing is planned Friday by the state Department of Fish and Game on the upcoming commercial salmon season. Separately, a big San Francisco rally to support commercial salmon fishers has been organized for Monday, April 24 by Congressman Mike Thompson.
Last week, federal regulators voted to mostly shut down about 700 miles of the West Coast to commercial salmon fishing this season to spare fish that return annually to the Klamath River to spawn.
Since then, the governors of California and Oregon and Congressmen from both states have been pushing for relief packages for the commercial fishing industry. There have been some efforts to solve the problem on the Klamath River, such as raising water rates for irrigators who are blamed for reducing water levels.
Sacramento hearing
on Friday
A public hearing on state and federal regulations and conformance measures for the upcoming commercial salmon season will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 21 in Sacramento.
The teleconference hearing will take place at the Department of Fish and Game”s office at 1416 9th St., Room 1206.
The teleconference, which can be reached by phoning (916) 274-2918, is for receiving public comment and is required under Fish and Game code.
Recommendations for the federal regulations were developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council on April 7 and forwarded to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for implementation by May 1.
DFG is proposing regulatory changes to enforce the federal landing and possession limits stipulated in the PFMC”s recommendations for the 2006 commercial salmon fishery. The PFMC recommendations await approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Emails comments will be accepted at sbarrow@dfg.ca.gov.
Written comments must be received at the above address by 8 a.m. on April 24.
Pro-fishing rally Monday
On April 24, Thompson will be organizing a rally at Pier 47 in San Francisco to decry the upcoming salmon season, to advocate much-needed disaster assistance for the affected communities and industry, and to push for the long-term restoration of the Klamath River basin, wrote Jim Martin of the Recreation Fishing Alliance.
For more information, call Thompson”s office at (202) 225-3311.
This event is endorsed by the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), the Golden Gate Fishermen”s Association (GGFA), and the Pacific Coast Fishermen”s Federation of Associations (PCFFA), and a growing list of fishing associations, Martin wrote.
“Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Napa) has been a long-time ally of fishermen in Congress,” Martin wrote. “The Klamath River runs through his district. He understands this issue from top to bottom.”
Public utility commissions raise water rates to benefit fish
In other salmon news last week, the Public Utility Commission voted to raise electricity rates over the next four years for farmers who pump irrigation water out of the Upper Klamath Lake, the reservoir that feeds the river. The commission”s vote came a day after the Oregon Public Utility Commission”s decision to implement a state law spreading the rate increase for farmers on the Oregon side of the river over the next seven years, according to published sources.
By making irrigation more expensive, fishermen and conservationists hope farmers will use less water, leading to higher flows. In recent years, low flows have resulted in dwindling stocks of Chinook salmon.
