MOSS LANDING — California and Oregon politicians on Friday entered the fray surrounding restrictions on commercial salmon fishermen, asking the Bush administration to step in and solve the ultimate culprit: a low-running Klamath River whose warm water has contributed to a dwindling chinook population.

In an effort to boost the number of salmon, a federal fishing advisory panel recommended Thursday to severely restrict commercial fishing this summer in 700 miles of federal waters off California and Oregon.

Though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service will make the final call next week, the Pacific Fishery Management Council's recommendation will weigh heavily in the decision.

The recommendation to ban commercial fishing during June and July dealt a devastating blow to thousands of fishermen whose livelihoods rely on the popularity of salmon among consumers.

"I'm so sick and tired of the federal government blaming us, always telling us that we're overfishing," said Vicki Crow, a commercial salmon angler who's hoping she'll catch more halibut and sea bass to offset the loss. "It's the government and agriculture that's wiping out the fish, not us. They just don't know what they're doing up there."

Recreational salmon fishermen were cut much more slack by the council. They will be permitted to fish in federal waters from May 1 to the end of September — based on the simple reasoning that the sorts of numbers sport fishermen rack up don't compare with their commercial counterparts. The recreational season for state waters, up to three miles off the coast, started April 1.

The commercial restrictions, the heaviest in the history of the industry, didn't sit well with many Democrats. On Friday, five California and Oregon House representatives took aim at the Bush administration for exacerbating the situation by making an attempt to overturn a recent U.S. District Court decision requiring the Bureau of Reclamation to divert less water from the Klamath River.

The Klamath River begins in southeastern Oregon and empties into the Pacific Ocean in Northern California.

Next week, the Justice Department is expected to challenge the ruling made a month ago by U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong.

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, said: "Our salmon fishermen are being treated as scapegoats and enduring cuts to their season when the real problem lies with imbalanced Klamath water policies."

Said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, referring to the Justice Department's planned legal maneuver: "This decision is nothing but a slap in the face to fishing families and coastal communities in California and Oregon. It seems the administration is not interested in addressing the factors that are ultimately responsible for this salmon season."

Meanwhile, both sets of salmon fishermen from Santa Cruz to Moss Landing harbors were angry at the advisory council for its decision, claiming few fish from the Klamath River ever reach Monterey Bay.

Carol Jones, who co-owns Tom's Sport Fishing, said the original prospect of a shortened season among recreational salmon fishing didn't exactly help her business. Nor did the confusion and wait-and-see situations as news trickled forth from the council during the past few weeks.

"We were like yo-yos," she said. "It was like 'stress, don't stress, stress, don't stress.' I just wish they hadn't closed federal waters to us in March. We just started the season, and we have three miles of state water to fish in."

Contact Tom Ragan at tragan@santacruzsentinel.com.