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Washington, DC --Today, Congressman David Wu (OR), Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR) and Congressman Mike Thompson (CA) met with scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to discuss the Bush Administration's current salmon recovery plan.
The meeting was organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of the Interior and was open to all members of Congress. Congressmen Wu, DeFazio and Thompson attended to ask questions about the possible closure of sport and commercial fishing off the coasts of Oregon and California.
Congressman Wu seized the opportunity to address NOAA scientists directly and asked, "True or false, the most dramatic effect on salmon recovery is water management and environmental degradation?"
Jim Lecky, director of NOAA's Office of Protected Resources, responded and agreed with Congressman Wu.
Congressman Wu continued, "Your recommendation to close sport and commercial fishing is a policy with a high price that won't solve the problem. Every lost job on the water results in an additional loss of three jobs on land in our coastal communities. It's clear that the reason why your management plan doesn't sell is because it fails to address the real causes of salmon loss."
Congressmen DeFazio and Thompson concurred with Congressman Wu that closure is not the answer and that salmon in Oregon and California need long-term solutions to truly fix the fishery.
Congressmen Wu, DeFazio and Thompson also addressed the economic impact a closure would have on fishing communities and asked for a commitment from NOAA that financial relief would soon follow a disaster declaration.
Even though NOAA has already estimated the economic impact on commercial fishermen to be $55 million, NOAA would only state that the financial analysis would not take as long as it did in 2005.
Congressmen Wu, DeFazio and Thompson ended the meeting by committing to working with NOAA on real solutions for salmon recovery and offering their availability for future discussion sessions.
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