The state Department of Agriculture has begun mailing out $500,000 in checks to aid idled coastal fishermen, the governor's office announced Friday.

The department received 360 applications from holders of troll salmon permits and is distributing funds to 280 fishermen. Checks will range from $75 to $7,500, based on criteria the state established in partnership with the fishing industry.

The money is expected to be disbursed by the end of August. It is intended to be used for expenses such as license fees, moorage fees, boat payments, boat insurance, safety equipment and related items.

The money will help fishermen trying to survive a season in which the catch probably will amount to about 10 percent of last year's salmon fishery, said Mark Newell, a Toledo commercial fisherman and buyer. Newell, who also crabs and fishes for black cod, did not apply for the aid.  

"These guys who depend solely on salmon are hurting, and any relief the government gave us is helping," he said. "I know guys who are having a hard time making house payments and boat payments."

Coastal salmon fishermen in Oregon and California were virtually shut down earlier this year when the federal government imposed salmon-fishing restrictions on 700 miles of coastline to protect depleted stocks of Klamath River chinook salmon.

Newell, a member of the Oregon Salmon Commission, said this year's salmon catch is likely to be 10,000 to 20,000 fish, compared with about 200,000 caught last year.

The money is coming from Gov. Ted Kulongoski's Strategic Reserve Fund. Another $500,000 will become available next month from funds approved by the Legislature in June.

"These out-of-work fishermen need direct aid, not more loans and debt," Kulongoski said in a statement.

The state money is intended as a bridge for fishermen until Congress appropriates federal aid money, said Lonn Honklin, a Kulongoski spokesman.

Earlier this month, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez declared commercial salmon fishing a failure off the Oregon and California coasts this year. That declaration permitted members of Congress from the two states to move forward on seeking up to $80 million in aid.

Gutierrez said direct losses to fishermen were estimated at $16 million.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 salmon fishermen live in the affected area, between Cape Falcon on the northern Oregon Coast to Point Sur, near Monterey, Calif.

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