U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo told the nation's Secretary of
Commerce Thursday that his decision to severely restrict commercial
salmon fishing this year had a devastating effect on the West Coast in
general and the Coastside in particular.
Eshoo made her comments during Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez' appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Democrat Eshoo represents portions of the Coastside and sits on the House committee.
"There has been a failure, in my view, to respond to the dire emergency that's affecting the commercial salmon fishing industry," Eshoo said at the hearing.
In April Gutierrez sided with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which ruled that the way to protect salmon populations on the West Coast was to restrict the number of fish that could be pulled from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The restrictions meant fishermen could pull only 75 fish per week from the ocean.
Local fishermen, meanwhile, are adamant that the problem centers up the Klamath River and that the restrictions were due to a desire to funnel more water to agricultural interests upstream.
Eshoo asked Gutierrez to rethink his decision. She also said she wants to see an economic analysis - prepared by a regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - that followed the restricted salmon season. Gutierrez promised to provide the document to the House committee.
"You've been to my congressional district, which everyone thinks of as solely Silicon Valley," Eshoo said in her prepared opening statement, addressed to Gutierrez. "On the other side of the hill is the magnificent Coastside, and this is a vital part of the economy there.
"The impact of the closure on the fisherman and the coastal communities is, really in many ways, unfathomable because it stretches across so many parts of the sector," she said.
Eshoo made her comments during Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez' appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Democrat Eshoo represents portions of the Coastside and sits on the House committee.
"There has been a failure, in my view, to respond to the dire emergency that's affecting the commercial salmon fishing industry," Eshoo said at the hearing.
In April Gutierrez sided with the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which ruled that the way to protect salmon populations on the West Coast was to restrict the number of fish that could be pulled from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The restrictions meant fishermen could pull only 75 fish per week from the ocean.
Local fishermen, meanwhile, are adamant that the problem centers up the Klamath River and that the restrictions were due to a desire to funnel more water to agricultural interests upstream.
Eshoo asked Gutierrez to rethink his decision. She also said she wants to see an economic analysis - prepared by a regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - that followed the restricted salmon season. Gutierrez promised to provide the document to the House committee.
"You've been to my congressional district, which everyone thinks of as solely Silicon Valley," Eshoo said in her prepared opening statement, addressed to Gutierrez. "On the other side of the hill is the magnificent Coastside, and this is a vital part of the economy there.
"The impact of the closure on the fisherman and the coastal communities is, really in many ways, unfathomable because it stretches across so many parts of the sector," she said.