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Washington, DC -- Today Congressman David Wu sent a second letter to the Pacific Fishery Management Council in support of Oregon's fishing community. The letter reiterates Congressman Wu's concern that closing sport and commercial fishing will not restore Klamath River system salmon runs, but will unnecessarily harm Oregon's fishing and tourism industries.
Congressman Wu firmly believes that the federal government needs to look at the major causes of salmon decline rather than focus on fishing, which only accounts for roughly five percent of salmon loss.
In a recent meeting with representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), they agreed with Congressman Wu that the causes of salmon loss are water management and environmental degradation, not fishing.
Congressman Wu has also joined other members of Congress in sending joint letters to the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting an immediate emergency declaration should the council recommend closure of the West Coast salmon fishing season. It is estimated that last year's sixty percent reduction in salmon fishing combined with a complete closure this year would cost coastal communities in Oregon and California $150 million.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is an advisory group on fisheries to NOAA. The council is meeting in Sacramento, California this week to make a final decision on whether or not to close sport and commercial fishing off the Oregon and California coast.
Below is the full text of Congressman Wu's letter:
April 4, 2006
BY FACSIMILE
Pacific Fishery Management Council
7700 NE Ambassador Place
Suite 200
Portland, OR 97220-1384
Subject: Closure of Sport and Commercial Salmon Fishing
Dear Council Members,
I am writing about the decision you are making this week about the possible closure of all sport and commercial salmon fishing on the Oregon and California coast.
Before we implement an extreme policy such as closing off all ocean sport and commercial salmon fishing, we need to demand that the administration do the right thing in the Klamath River system. The federal government needs to look at the causes of salmon decline rather than focus on minuscule to non-existent contributors such as fishing. No other approach can or will ever restore the Klamath fall Chinook run.
On March 29, I attended a briefing by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In answer to a direct question from me, the director of NOAA's Office of Protected Resources, Mr. Jim Lecky stated that water management and environmental degradation, not ocean fishing, are the causes of salmon decline in the Klamath River system.
Let me repeat this - Mr. Lecky stated that bad water management and environmental degradation are the causes of salmon decline, not ocean fishing. Therefore, any policy recommendation should focus on water management and environmental degradation in the Klamath River system instead of shifting blame to communities that did not create this problem.
Further, let me point at that the Klamath River fall Chinook is not either threatened or endangered. NOAA's 35,000 spawner fish requirement is an artificial floor set by the agency. The arbitrary nature of this floor was also admitted at the March 29 meeting by Department of Commerce officials. As a matter of common sense, it seems to me that a temporary adjustment of this artificial floor is needed while a real fall Chinook restoration plan is implemented.
Closing sport and commercial fishing is a policy with a high price that will not solve the problem. Every job lost on the water results in loss of three jobs on dry land in our coastal communities. Estimates of the economic impact are in the millions. All this sacrifice with no benefit to the fall Chinook run is an ineffective bandaid for bad public policy.
Most importantly, you are attacking the cultural roots of the Pacific Northwest. If you close the salmon fishery, you are not just terminating an economy; you are ending a way of life. Fishing for salmon is an integral part of who we are. Folks who fish for salmon have made innumerable changes and sacrifices to restore the salmon runs. It is time for this administration to distribute the pain fairly rather than attack coastal communities alone.
Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past and instead work together on real solutions for salmon recovery. Closure is not the solution.
Very truly yours,
David Wu
Member of Congress
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