The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Washington, D.C., office insists it's still studying the extent of the economic impacts of widespread salmon fishery closures, and claimed that Rep. Mike Thompson or other members of Congress don't need a disaster declaration to push for relief.

NOAA spokesman Jordan St. John said the fact that there is limited fishing allowed this year makes it difficult to determine whether there is a real, not just projected, effect on the industry, which he claimed is a requirement under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act. Only then can the U.S. secretary of commerce make a declaration, he said. That's in progress, he said.

St. John also said that Congress has on several occasions appropriated money without a disaster declaration.

”It doesn't trigger anything,” St. John said, “and it's not a prerequisite for anything either.”

NOAA's take on the situation has made Thompson and salmon fishermen hoping for assistance bristle.

Eureka commercial fisherman Dave Bitts said the West Coast fishery this year is an unquestionable disaster, and said that the current administration simply views the existence of salmon and salmon fishermen as inconvenient. He scoffed at NOAA's view of the disaster declaration.

”That's very interesting,” Bitts said. “You don't need the fire department to put out the fire -- you've got a hose.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently pushed for a disaster declaration, as did the governor of Oregon. The state set up loan guarantees for fishermen who can't borrow from banks. Bitts said he doesn't know anyone using the program, but added that Schwarznegger's request of the federal government was extremely important.

Thompson said Thursday that NOAA headquarters had overruled a disaster declaration request from a West Coast office, and planned to put off the declaration until February. Without a declaration, some $80 million in relief included in legislation is unlikely to get to fishermen, he said.

On Friday, Thompson said it is possible to appropriate money without a declaration, but a similar request several years ago by both Republican and Democratic senators was viewed as premature.

”NOAA's part of the equation,” Thompson said. “It's sad because they have a responsibility to the resource and those who make a living off the resource.”

The Sustainable Fisheries Act, an amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, only says that once the secretary makes a determination that there is a disaster, he can make money available for affected states. The only applicable prerequisite is that the secretary must be sure that providing the assistance wouldn't worsen the disaster.

Sustainable Fisheries Act

FISHERIES DISASTER RELIEF -- (1) At the discretion of the Secretary or at the request of the Governor of an affected State or a fishing community, the Secretary shall determine whether there is a commercial fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster as a result of --

(A) natural causes;

(B) man-made causes beyond the control of fishery managers to mitigate through conservation and management measures; or

(C) undetermined causes.

(2) Upon the determination under paragraph (1) that there is a commercial fishery failure, the Secretary is authorized to make sums available to be used by the affected State, fishing community, or by the Secretary in cooperation with the affected State or fishing community for assessing the economic and social effects of the commercial fishery failure, or any activity that the Secretary determines is appropriate to restore the fishery or prevent a similar failure in the future and to assist a fishing community affected by such failure. Before making funds available for an activity authorized under this section, the Secretary shall make a determination that such activity will not expand the size or scope of the commercial fishery failure in that fishery or into other fisheries or other geographic regions.

(3) The Federal share of the cost of any activity carried out under the authority of this subsection shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of that activity.