| Bodega
Bay fisherman Lee Furtado survives because he "has a few pennies
put away." Other fishermen have been catching crab or halibut,
working non-fishing jobs or buying expensive licenses to fish in far-off
waters. Few say they will take government loans. (Light photo by Steven
Nellis) |
Sam Spiewak
June 22, 2006
When the ban on salmon fishing ends on July 26, the fleet in Bodega
Bay will have the best-looking fleet of boats in memory.
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Instead of selling salmon, fishermen spend their days priming
rail, slathering paint, and polishing decks – that is, when
they aren’t writing checks for dock fees or maintenance. One
fisherman had his mother on deck for a nice visit. A tourist
aimed his camera at the sunny state of emergency.
What he didn’t see were all the missing men: 80 percent of
salmon fishermen on the north coast of California have been
forced to find other souces of employment, according to the
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association. Fisherman
say that an emergency loan package pro-claimed by Governor
Schwarzenegger won’t help, since the rate is more usurious
than an average small business loan.
The Klamath: farmers over fish
Low numbers of Chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Klamath
River along the California-Oregon border led to the restrictions
on salmon fishing. Fish in the Klamath have been dwindling
because of damming and irrigation projects over the last 50
years. When the government restricted water from the Klamath to
farmers in 2001, President Bush’s adviser Karl Rove promised
farmers and agricultural interests that they would get their
water back. In 2002 they did.
Against the advice of government biologists, Secretary of the
Interior Gale Norton visited the area to turn the spigot back
on. The result was the largest fish-kill in West Coast history.
The California Department of Fish and Game originally reported
34,000 salmon died because of higher water temperatures and
parasites from low flows in the river. In its final report, the
agency said the number might have been twice that.
Salmon fishing in Bodega Bay and Bolinas has halted, though
sport fishing continues unfettered. On June 6, Gov.
Schwarzenegger offered loans to help the commercial fishermen.
The Govenor’s proclaimation allowed California’s finance
department to set aside $9.2 million to “prevent insolvency
and unemployment” in the industry.
"By proclaiming a state of emergency, we are helping the
fishermen and communities recover from the hardship and economic
loss caused by the severely restricted salmon season," said
Governor Schwarzenegger in a statement. But the fishermen in
Bodega and Bolinas said the rates of the loan are higher than
business loans from local banks. Without ensuring the health of
the fishery there is little point in borrowing money against
future income that may never materialize, they said.
The emergency loan rates
But are the fishermen correct in their assessment of the loan
rate? The terms of the loan are as follows: Fishermen who are
unable to obtain credit from commercial banks can qualify for up
to $500,000 from a financial development corporation to be paid
over 7 years. The interest rate is fixed somewhere between the
prime interest rate (which is now at 8 percent) and that rate
plus 3 percent. In addition the lender may charge for
“out-of-pocket” expenses, as well as a fee of up to 1.5
percent of the loan amount. Collateral is also required.
“It’s worse than the rate I could get at the bank down the
street,” said Stan Carpenter, a Bodega Bay fisherman, as he
took a break from fixing-up the Sandy B. Last year, the average
small business loan from small commercial banks in United States
was 8.12 percent, according to a wide-ranging survey by Business
Week magazine. Interest rates offered through the disaster
assistance program could be as high as 10 percent or as low as 8
percent.
The fishermen might have a hard time applying for the loan since
agencies were unaware or confused about of the governor’s
action.
“Usually with something like this its just kind of a press
release,” thought Marija Voikovich of the California Fish and
Game Department. She hadn’t heard of the loans, but Voikovich
is listed as a contact person for the program, according to
staff at the Govenor’s Office and Department of Finance.
“There’s no state budget yet and so there’s no money until
the legistlatiors approve a budget,” said Voikovich. “Then
we would have to set up a program.”
In fact, interested fishermen in Sonoma and Marin may contact
Safe-Bidco at 707-577-8621 to apply for the loans.
More debt? No thanks!
Fishermen in Marin and Sonoma aren’t necessarily interested in
the offer.
“Most fisherman aren’t going to be too thrilled about
another loan,” said Don Murch, a fisherman in Bolinas. “How
are you going to make payments if you’re not bringing in any
income?”
“None of the fisherman are taking the loan,” said Stan
Carpenter. Carpenter’s grandfathers were both fisherman in
California. His brother and his two cousins still operate boats
out of Bodega Bay. The bumper sticker of his Ford 250 reads
“Support Local Fisherman: Demand California Salmon” (half a
mile from the marina, a market sold it for $18.99 a pound). In
his glove compartment, Carpenter carries a photocopied chart of
Klamath River salmon populations. “Right now, crab is our
mainstay,” he said. “I’m barely making wages.”
Those who couldn’t afford to spend the day moored on Bodega
Bay were off working other jobs or catching crab or halibut. The
man Carpenter employs had gone back to Canada where he could get
health care for his injured hand. No meetings were scheduled for
fisherman to discuss their situation. A few said they had sent
letters to the governor.
“Seems like nothing can be done,” said 65-year-old Lee
Furtado in his mildly accented English. Furtado has been a
fisherman in Bodega for 15 years. He wore a baseball cap with a
picture of a salmon on it and painted primer on the rail of his
48-footer, the Sea Star. He was living off money he had saved
from his previous job as a carpenter, he said.
Furtado said he could catch from 40 to 200 salmon in a day and
sell those fish from $4 to $2.75 a pound last year. That means
the salmon bans costs him anywhere from $880 to $3,200 a day in
lost income.
“When you catch a lot of fish you can sell in volume,” he
said. When restrictions are lifted on July 26, fishermen will be
limited to a catch of 75 fish per day. An experienced fisherman
can catch that amount in four or five hours on a good day,
according to Bolinas fisherman Josh Churchman.
“We can’t live on one or two fish,” said Furtado. “We
are dead in the water.”
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