ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to a request by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to include $5 million in a 2010 supplemental appropriations bill for Yukon River salmon fishermen.
Murkowski says the economic disaster assistance would help fishermen and communities affected by the failure of the Yukon River chinook salmon fishery.
"What we're able to do with this $5 million will be to get direct payments to those that were affected by the salmon fishery failure," Murkowski said.
In 2008, the commercial salmon harvest was 89 percent below the five-year average, and the fishery remained closed through 2009.
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