Southern Oregon fishermen expressed cautious
optimism after the second salmon summit in Newport on Friday.
Since April, when federal managers opted to close commercial salmon fishing
off the southern Oregon Coast and restrict it for most of the rest of the
coast, trollers have been emphasizing the need for direct payments over other
kinds of aid. Forecasts of low numbers of wild Chinook salmon returning to the
Klamath River are the culprits.
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski arranged for the second summit to check on progress
by state agencies to find ways to help fishermen and talk further with state
and federal lawmakers and Oregon fishermen.
On Friday, the message of direct payments
got across, fisherman Scott Cook said.
“I think that part of what we're after is finally portrayed,” Cook said.
“They're hearing it.”
Kulongoski said in a press statement released at the same time the summit was
taking place that cash assistance is important.
“... I have asked state agencies and the Legislature to search the Oregon
Statutes to find every possible means of providing direct cash assistance to
the fleet,” Kulongoski said in the statement. “As soon as the authority to
do so is identified, I will do whatever I must do to provide that
assistance.”
But since the first summit, held at the end of March, no fisherman has
received a penny of assistance. The U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to
declare the fishery an economic failure and it was only on Friday that
Kulongoski sent a letter to President Bush requesting a disaster declaration.
This is where the cautious optimism comes in. This year's drastic season
closures likely aren't the last the fleet will experience. Financial aid also
could be necessary in upcoming years.
“Is this a one-year issue?” Kulongoski asked during the summit.
Oregon State University Sea Grant Agent and
local salmon troller Paul Heikkila said no. This year's season is based on
returns of Chinook that headed to sea in 2002. Biologists fear fish going down
the Klamath in 2003 and 2004 also could have poor survival rates due to
diseases and parasites. The young fish in 2003 and 2004 will return during the
2007 and 2008 fishing seasons.
“We're looking at the next couple of years,” Heikkila said. Then he
paused. “I hope I'm wrong. I hope these fish survived better in the
ocean.”
State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, also recognized the need for a
long-term solution.
“This is just one in a series of natural disasters,” Johnson said, noting
that the timber industry experienced disaster in the past and so did
groundfish fishermen.
Better science is needed, as is a solution to systemic natural resources
problems, she said.
But for the immediate salmon disaster, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
plans to request more than $2 million from the legislative Emergency Board,
which meets during the years in which the Legislature is not in session to
disburse state funds. That money would go to hiring fishermen to work on
stream and river habitat and also to do scientific research on the ocean.
State Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, said at the summit that getting state
aid is a priority.
“We may only get state help,” Verger said. “This has to be declared a
(federal) disaster. And that hasn't happened.”
Kulongoski emphasized that state agencies must find anything they can to help
the fishermen. One of the points in his press statement included promoting
Oregon's coastal communities for tourism - it's one way to stimulate economic
activity in the smaller towns and let visitors enjoy recreational ocean
fishing, including salmon.
Recreational fishermen have a lower impact on Klamath River wild Chinook, so
fishery managers allowed much of the sport fishing season to remain open.
But sport fishermen also have a vested interest in seeing the commercial fleet
return to the ocean, Heikkila noted.
“The recreational guys depend on the commercials to find the fish,”
Heikkila said. “Those salmon go a long ways in supporting these coastal
communities.”