The legislation will provide $81 million for impacted commercial fishermen and fishery-related businesses in coastal communities in California and Oregon. The Department of Commerce would distribute the assistance through the Pacific Marine States Fisheries Commission.

  Thompson’s bill would also direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to complete a Klamath salmon recovery plan within six months of the bill’s passage. After the completion of the plan, $45 million would be allocated for conservation projects such as stream gauges and monitoring equipment, fish passage projects and additional NOAA fisheries staff and resources to better track and study Klamath River salmon, according to Thompson.  

The introduction of the legislation was spurred by requests for disaster relief by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and other commercial fishing organizations that have been ignored by the Bush administration to date.  

“The Bush administration’s gross mismanagement of the Klamath River has led to this year’s and last year’s shortened salmon season,” Thompson, the bill’s author, stated. “Yet the administration isn’t offering any assistance to the affected communities nor do they have a plan to restore the salmon.”  

Thompson and representatives of fishing organizations and Klamath River Indian tribes all emphasized the importance of salmon to the culture, tradition and economy of California. Fishermen, in front of Scoma's Restaurant on Pier 47, held signs with slogans including "Don't Kill Our Salmon Fleet," "Will Work For Salmon," "Fix the Real Problem - Impeach Bush," and "Bush Destroys Salmon Runs For Agribusiness."  

“Salmon fishing represents the heart and soul of where we live,” said Thompson. “It’s also business along the coast of California, coastal Oregon and in the Central Valley. We don’t want to point fingers, we want to take care of the problems and fix the problems of the Klamath River.”  

The current slashing of commercial salmon season and a reduced recreational season are the results of the fish kills of 2002 and the unhealthy state of the river. Ever since Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, diverted Klamath water that year to fields in the Klamath Basin, tribes and fishermen warned the administration that fish kills would occur. Hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon died in disease spurred by low, warm conditions in the river in the spring of 2002, while as many as 80,000 adult salmon died that September.  

Since that time, the change in water policy by the Department of Interior and the resulting poor water conditions have resulted in the deaths of the majority of juvenile salmon migrating down the river, due to the infestation of a parasite, C. Shasta, that thrives in degraded water conditions. Even if all recreational and commercial salmon fishing was closed, the escapement floor goal of 35,000 Klamath fish is not expected to be met.  

Ironically, commercial fishermen are being kept off the water in spite of a relatively robust ocean salmon population. The forecasted 2006 ocean abundance of Central Valley chinooks is 632,482 fish, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. However, the fish mix together when they swim off the California and Oregon coast, so the fishing regulations are based on protecting the least abundant stocks.  

Although some may have been surprised by this year's salmon season cuts, Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and others who have closely followed the Klamath water battles aren’t.  

“It was no surprise when the fish kills of 2002 took place,” said Grader. It was no surprise when juvenile salmon died in 2003, 2004 and 2005 from disease. We warned the Bush administration that there was trouble ahead, but were met with indifference, inaction and silence. We now have a disaster on hand, and what’s the administration’s answer? To close us down!”  

Other Bay Area Members of Congress, including George Miller, Lynn Woolsey, Anna Eshoo and House Leader Nancy Pelosi, are cosponsoring the bill. Lynn Woolsey addressed the rally herself, while staff members of Miller’s, Eshoo’s and Pelosi’s office read letters announcing their co-sponsorship of Thompson’s bill. Michelle Moss, staff member for Senator Barbara Boxer, also announced that Boxer is introducing a companion bill to the House bill in the Senate.  

“When you have a healthy river, you have fish, and that’s good for local communities, the commercial fishing industry, recreational anglers, tribes and the entire West Coast,” said Miller in his letter. “The bill we’re introducing in congress will help everyone that depends upon a healthy salmon population.”  

“I share the outrage of commercial and sport fishermen up and down the Pacific Coast,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo. “In Half Moon Bay in my Congressional District, members of the small commercial and sport fishing fleet are fighting for their livelihoods. Along with my colleagues, I’m with them in this fight.”  

Former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey, who is now running against Rep. Richard Pombo in the upcoming primary election, is strongly supporting Thompson's bill. "If Pombo doesn't co-sponsor this bill, I will make his refusal a big part of my campaign," McCloskey said.  

Party boat skippers and representatives of recreational fishing groups showed up at the rally in support of disaster relief for commercial fishermen and restoring the Klamath River.  

“All of the speeches today have boiled down to 4 words – it’s the river, stupid,” said Mark Gorelink, spokesman for the Coastside Fishing Club. Gorelnick noted that while the PFMC approved a relatively intact recreational fishing season, commercial fishermen are facing a “joke of a season.”  

“Coastside Fishing Club strongly supports Thompson’s legislation,” he stated. “We consider any threat to the recreational salmon trollers as a threat also to the commercial fishermen. Recreational anglers stand shoulder to shoulder with commercial and tribal fishermen to get the river fixed.”  

Roger Thomas, president of the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, stressed that the party boat fishing industry, along with the commercial fleet, represent a “valuable economic contributor” to all of the ports and all of the communities in California. “The commercial fishermen need to be in business and stay in business,” he stated.  

Other recreational fishing representatives at the rally included Bob Strickland, president of United Anglers of California; Jim Martin, West Coast Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance; and Craig Stone, manager of the Emeryville Sportfishing Center and charter boat representative of the Salmon Advisory Subpanel (SAS) of the PFMC.  

Likewise, representatives of the Karuk and Yurok Indian tribes affirmed their solidarity with commercial fishermen and support for Thompson’s bill.  

“My people and your people are both at risk,” said Ron Reed, a Karuk Tribe cultural biologist who dip nets salmon below Ishi-Pishi Falls in the traditional manner. “What affects my people affects you and your people. Our tribe of 3,000 members harvested less than 100 salmon in 2004 and 200 fish in 2005. This has had a devastating impact on our way of life.”  

“I see the pain on the faces of the people in this crowd, just like I saw the pain on the farmers' faces when their water was cut off in 2001,” he emphasized.  

Reed urged fishermen to support the battle to take down the four Klamath River dams as a major step in restoring the fishery. The Tribes and other parties are currently in negotiations with PacifiCorp to develop a settlement agreement to determine the fate of the dams.  

He described the current Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dam re-licensing process as “something that only happens once every 50 years. It presents all of us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore the Klamath by having the dams removed.”  

Troy Fletcher, consultant for the Yurok Tribe, said the tribe supports disaster relief – and reiterated the call that he made at the April PFMC meeting in Sacramento to form a “blue collar panel.” This panel, made up of fishermen, farmers and others “whose hands touch the water,” should be tasked with developing recommendations on how fishing dependent communities can survive this and anticipated closures in upcoming years.  

“There’s no silver bullet that will have us feeling better tomorrow,” said Fletcher. “We need to form this panel to form a bridge between today and the time when we get more fish into the river. There won’t be more fish next year nor the following year – and we need to make sure that communities depending on salmon survive in the meantime.”   

More Editorials By Dan Bacher