$10 million called first step in aid effort

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved $10 million in relief for salmon fishermen and fishing-related businesses in California and Oregon, a fraction of the estimated $81 million in damage done by closing the fishery along much of the coast.

West Coast senators called the appropriation a first step. It's also one that will have to clear the Senate and the House, and would not be available until Oct. 1, the start of the 2007 fiscal year.

”I greatly appreciate the efforts by the appropriations committee leadership to assist us in the effort,” said California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “But much more needs to be done, and I am determined to work closely with my colleagues to bring additional assistance to the area.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez last week declared the season a disaster, after significant pressure from lawmakers, governors and fishing communities. That made small business loans available, but not actual relief.

Eureka fisherman Ken Bay found it ironic that the federal government recently proposed paying San Joaquin Valley farmers at least $750 million to let their drainage-poor lands go fallow, but can't provide appropriate relief during an obvious fishing disaster.

”If anything, that just shows what happens to us all the time,” Bay said. “They take $60,000 to $80,000 in income from me and expect me to take out a $20,000 loan?”

The commercial fishery was closed, and sport and tribal fisheries severely cut, to protect a weak run of Klamath salmon expected in the river this year. Many coastal communities see the federal government's water policies on the Klamath River as at the heart of poor salmon populations in recent years.