Lawmakers tout bill to put federal

money into Klamath salmon recovery

Louise Chu

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO - Lawmakers plan to introduce a bill calling on the federal government to implement a $45 million recovery plan for salmon in the Klamath River, as fishermen face a shorter salmon season this year because of low spawning rates.

The bill announced Monday by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson at a rally at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf also would provide $81 million in disaster relief for commercial anglers and businesses affected by the restrictions.

Thompson, however, called the relief money merely "a band-aid" to the bigger problem, which he called "gross mismanagement" by the Bush administration of the Klamath's water quality. Water diverted from the river to farms has resulted in tens of thousands of salmon killed by low and warm water conditions.

Thompson's bill, to be introduced in Congress on Tuesday, calls for the Department of Commerce to complete a recovery plan within six months of the bill's passage, then put $45 million toward conservation projects that will better monitor and study water quality.

"We've got to fix this problem, we've got to fix it now, and we have to fix it with science and policy, not politics," Thompson told about 100 commercial, recreational and tribal fishermen at the rally.

Following strong direction from NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that overseas salmon restoration and ocean fisheries, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, recently voted to severely limit commercial salmon fishing along 700 miles of coast from Cape Falcon, Ore., down to Big Sur. Recreational fishing also was cut back, though not as severely.

The decision still must be approved by the Secretary of Commerce. The salmon fishing season is scheduled to begin next week.

Many of the fishermen at Monday's rally said their livelihoods were at risk if they weren't allowed back on the water.

"We are the real people whose traditions may be lost forever due to inept fishery policies," said Ben Platt, a second-generation angler from Fort Bragg. He presented Thompson with an 8,000-signature petition calling for the reopening of the salmon season.

Carrying a sign that read "Let Me Fish and Live," Bob Transano of Half Moon Bay said the restrictions have slashed his income by 70 percent this year and he wonders how long he can stay in business under current policies.

"We'll become extinct before the salmon become extinct," he said.