Immediate patches, restoration for Klamath needed along with aid  

Salmon fishermen and industry reps told high-level officials from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration in Humboldt County on Friday that they are as concerned about fixing fish stocks in the Klamath River as they are about getting financial assistance in this disastrous salmon season.  

A weak run expected on the Klamath this year prompted federal officials to slash the commercial salmon fishing season on much of the West Coast. That has devastated fishing businesses, which months after the closure are still without real aid.  

Small Business Administration loans have been “a joke,” many told California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman and Fish and Game Director Ryan Broddrick. Fishermen were also snubbed by the recent blocking of a state aid package by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D- Los Angeles , despite bipartisan support including the governor's office.  

”I personally don't want government handouts,” said Trinidad fisherman Mike Zamboni. “I just want to fish.”  

Both short-term measures to help young salmon survive an often disease- and algae-infested Klamath River , and longer-term efforts to remove the river's dams were pushed by the group of fishermen, tribal and legislative representatives gathered at the Board of Supervisors chambers. Ways to deal with two microorganisms that plague the river's young fish need to be found quickly, they said.  

”Unless and until we focus on those microorganisms, we're not addressing the most immediate problem,” said Eureka fisherman Dave Bitts.  

Some suggested trapping young fish in Klamath tributaries and shipping them downriver past hot spots for fish diseases might be a stop-gap measure to prevent low runs in the near future. Restoration efforts planned for the Scott and Shasta rivers won't do much if the fish can't get to the ocean, said Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith.  

”We understand the seriousness of this issue,” Chrisman told the group.  

Also present to hear the concerns were Jose Luis Marquez with the state Economic Development Department, Glenn Stober with the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and Brian Prusnek with the governor's office. Prusnek said he wasn't making promises, but expected Schwarzenegger to back aid legislation in the next session.  

Bitts also said that it's important that Congress -- which could consider issuing federal disaster aid -- see that California is willing to put forward relief money. He questioned whether an upcoming special legislative session might be used to revisit state aid in the wake of the relief bill's failure. He also questioned whether disaster unemployment funds could be a last resort.  

Marquez said that the system for unemployment is based on natural disasters, and could take a Federal Emergency Management Agency declaration to put in place.  

Several fishermen said that while management of the Klamath River is in part responsible for the bleak fish runs, there is also a natural component to it.  

Others just pleaded for some financial relief -- soon.  

”Whatever you can get for immediate aid is what we need,” said fisherman Aaron Newman.  

Many fishermen and fishing businesses who have applied to the Small Business Administration for loans have found themselves unqualified. Some who depend on fishing aren't eligible to begin with.  

Craig Tucker with the Karuk Tribe said American Indian subsistence fishing is vital to the tribe, which isn't helped by disaster relief. He asked that the State Water Resources Control Board develop a standard for levels of toxic algae that develop in the river and its reservoirs, and that restoration efforts -- like replacing fish-blocking culverts on Klamath tributaries -- that could yield immediate benefits be supported.  

”We're going to be giving out loans for fishermen ad infinitum unless we start solving the problem,” Tucker said.