Captain Randy Thornton, owner and operator of Telstar Charters in Fort Bragg, won't take his boat out today or tomorrow. Instead, he'll probably do yardwork or perform maintenence on the vessel. Normally, he'd leave from Noyo Harbor with up to 17 passengers for a day of fishing at $70 each, but recent restrictions imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) have limited salmon fishing along the Oregon and California coasts.

The approval of restrictions followed a recommendation from the Pacific Fishery Management Council to limit catches due to a low numbers of naturally spawning Klamath River fall Chinook salmon. The low population culminated from major fish kills in the river in 2002, according to a letter sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar Wednesday from Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, whose district includes all of Mendocino County. The letter asks that he declare this year's depleted salmon fishery qualify as a disaster.

"The situation for the salmon fishery, including processors and the supporting businesses, in ports such as Fort Bragg and north is a disaster, as it will be for businesses, fishing guides and others on the Klamath River and for the tribes," the letter stated. "Your declaration of a disaster is the first step needed in pursuing a federal disaster declaration which will allow the affected individuals and businesses to access federal disaster relief programs."

In addition to Berg, who chairs the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, a number of bipartisan state legislators signed the letter.

Commercial fishing between Horse Mountain and Point Arena, which includes Fort Bragg, will be limited to Sept. 1 through Sept. 15, or when the Chinook salmon quota of 4,000 is reached. This includes a landing and possession limit of 30 Chinook per vessel per day. Recreational salmon fishing in the area was open Feb. 18 through the end of May, but faces eight restricted days in June and 12 in July.

"The commercial fishery is certainly devastated compared to the recreational fisheries," Thornton said, however noting that the recreational restrictions will affect his charter business. "I already don't quite make enough to make a living," Thornton, who estimates 70 percent of his income comes from salmon fishing, said. "Every year the government has imposed more restrictions. I work hard, I put in a lot of hours and it's things like this that affect my business."

NOAA Fisheries hopes its restrictions, which limit the commercial salmon harvest to about 40 percent of its usual intake for the year, will result in an estimated 21,000 natural adult salmon spawners in the Klamath River after the allowed commercial and recreational harvests.

"This is a necessary step to ensure the long-term health of the salmon fishery," Rod McInnis, director of NOAA Fisheries Southwest Region, said in an April news release.

Berg, however, worries that it will leave businesses, commercial and otherwise, in jeopardy.

"There is no guarantee that we can get federal relief for these people," Berg said in a press release. "We know the odds may be long, but you have to try what you can to help the people you serve."

It would not be the first time relief funds were made available to fisherman in Fort Bragg. Thornton recalled recieving a stipend fund following rock fish cutbacks in 2000. "I took advantage of that program and it was responsible for keeping my business alive," Thornton said.

Thornton also noted a possible domino effect from fishing restrictions. Fort Bragg's annual "Worlds Largest Salmon Barbeque," scheduled for July 1, faces what Thornton called an "outrageously high" price of salmon due to its limited numbers. Events like this, he said, attract thousands to the area ­ a source of revenue that is now "at jeopardy of being lost."

Berg's letter said that, in all, the State could lose up to $81 million in commercial fishing revenue depending on actual availibility and location of fish this season.

On April 26, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski declared economic disaster and a state of emergency for Oregon's coastal counties. He has already prepared a letter to the President asking for a federal disaster declaration, which will, according to Kulongoski, "trigger financial disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support economically displaced salmon trollers."

Katie Mintz can be reached at udjkm@pacific.net.