Salmon fishermen dive into politics

Commercial trollers work to restore Klamath River flow to prevent repeat of fish die-offs

Saturday, May 14, 2005

The talk this year among North Coast commercial fishermen is as much about Congress and the courts as it is about engines, hulls and lines.

The trollers are rolling up the sleeves of their flannel shirts and taking political action to restore the Klamath River, where thousands of salmon died three years ago.

"It forced people to fight back and to organize," said Glen Spain, a researcher and lobbyist for the fishermen's advocacy group, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "We've had to get politically savvy and learn how to use the courts to protect the resource."

Fishermen's efforts could have impacts far beyond fishing, however, as they seek to end water diversions to the Central Valley and defeat a lawsuit they say could cost taxpayers' millions of dollars in grower reimbursements.

"If this lawsuit goes through, any group can come in and ask for compensation any time the government (tries) to enforce the Clean Water Act or the Endangered Species Act or any other environmental statute," said Zeke Grader, executive director of the fishermen's association.

The Klamath River runs along the California-Oregon border. It twists and turns for 190 miles, through four counties and two states, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean south of Crescent City.

In 2002, an estimated 70,000 adult salmon and countless juveniles died, the largest fish kill of its kind in the Western United States.

The result has been a greatly reduced commercial fishing season - as little as one month along the coast near Fort Bragg. Losses are estimated at $100 million.

"It's put a drastic cut in the commercial salmon fishery," said Joe Mantua of Bodega Bay, who has been salmon fishing for 14 years. "Some of the bigger boats have traveled to the Monterey area because they can fish down there. The smaller boats don't have the option to travel as far, and they won't get to wet a line until July 4."

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, has asked the Bush administration to declare the coast a fishery disaster area so fishermen can apply for grants and loans.

But like duck hunters and trout fishermen before them, commercial salmon fishermen are becoming advocates for their prey - seeking to restore fish habitat and flows to the Klamath River basin.

"It seems to me we have an opportunity now. We have people's attention," Grader said. "In 2002, when water went to farmers and was cut off to the river, we saw what happened. Two major die-offs of a magnitude that had never happened before."

Fishermen are working on several fronts:

They are supporting the Bureau of Reclamation in a lawsuit brought by Klamath River growers. The growers, based on legal permits with a variety of agencies, claim rights to all the water in the Klamath and are seeking compensation for any water set aside for fish.

The problem is that growers' permits and water contracts now exceed the river's flow, Grader said.

Fishermen also put pressure on the Bureau of Reclamation to implement a 2000 order by the Clinton administration to partially restore flows to the Trinity River, which feeds into the Klamath.

A victory of sorts came last week, when the bureau announced it would increase its releases from the dams to the river. Since 1963, about three-fourths of the Trinity's flow has gone to the Central Valley project. From now on, the Trinity will have about half its normal flow, according to Bureau of Reclamation figures.

Six small hydropower dams built in the Klamath River basin in 1917 have come up for relicensing, and fishermen are negotiating to have some or all of the dams torn down. That would open up 250 miles of spawning habitat on several river systems, Spain said.

Fishermen are also supporting a bill soon to be introduced by Thompson that would give incentives to Klamath growers to conserve water or to get out of farming entirely. If enacted, the measure would allow more water to remain in the Klamath and the farm land could be restored to provide shade and vegetation along the river banks, Thompson said.

Thompson said he has an eye to preserving the fish, but is concerned about downstream businesses and towns as well.

"If the fish numbers don't improve, we're going to see more restrictions on already heavily restricted industries such as agriculture, timber and road building and maintenance," Thompson said.