SACRAMENTO, March 16 (UPI) -- Salmon fishermen along the U.S. Pacific coast are facing bankruptcy as Washington prepares to ban their livelihood.
The National Marine Fisheries Service says the Chinook population in the Klamath River is unacceptably low. And, because Klamath Chinook mix with other salmon in Pacific Ocean waters off about 700 miles of the U.S. coast, a ban on salmon fishing is the only way to restore Klamath salmon populations.
The ban is proposed between California's Point Sur and Oregon's Falcon Point, a vast area where Chinook represent a $150 million industry, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported Thursday.
Early next month, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council will make a recommendation on the closure. The council is only an advisory body to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which makes the final decision.
The commercial salmon season normally begins April 1 in Oregon and May 1 in California.
"If we don't get an adequate season, we're out of
business. We're broke. Belly up," said David Yarger, a Bodega Bay, Calif.,
salmon fisherman. "It would be just like you walking into your office in
the morning and having them tell you, 'We don't need you anymore.'"