A Perfect Storm: House Panel Will Hold Hearing on West Coast Salmon May 15

by Dan Bacher

May 14, 2008. A House Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the management of West Coast salmon fisheries on Thursday, May 15 at 10 a.m. (eastern) in Washington, D.C. The hearing occurs at a time when salmon fishing off the coast of California and most of Oregon has been closed, due to the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley fall run chinook salmon.

The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans will hold the hearing at Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building. The hearing, entitled, “A Perfect Storm: How Faulty Science, River Mismanagement, and Ocean Conditions Are Impacting the West," will be webcast live on the Committee's Web site at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.

Witnesses at the hearing will include:
Mr. Roger Thomas, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, Sausalito, CA
Mr. Dick Pool, Pro-Troll Fishing Products and American Sportfishing Association, Concord, CA
Mr. Joel Kawahara, commercial salmon fisherman, Seattle WA
Ms. Laura Anderson, Local Ocean Seafoods, Newport, OR
Mr. Rod McInnis, Southwest Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries Service
Mr. Mike Rode, Former California Fish and Game
Dr. Jack Williams, Senior Scientist, Trout Unlimited
Mr. Jim Litchfield, Litchfield Consulting
Mr. Jason Peltier, representing San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority

On April 10, 2008, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) voted to close the 2008 commercial and sport Chinook salmon fishing season in California and most of Oregon. A closure of this magnitude is unprecedented in the history of these fisheries.

On May 9, the California Fish and Game Commission closed salmon fishing in the Sacramento River and its tributaries except for one limited stretch. The Commission adopted a zero salmon bag limit in all 14 Central Valley rivers and streams except for a one-salmon bag limit in the Sacramento River from Red Bluff Diversion Dam to Knights Landing from November 1 to December 31. The effective date of the regulatory package should be on or before July 15.

While the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations point to "ocean conditions" as the reason for the sudden salmon fishery collapse, commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, Indian Tribes and some prominent scientists contend that massive increases in water exports from the California Delta and declining water quality are the key factors behind the decline.

The ocean and river closures will have a huge impact upon the economy of California, particularly coastal and Central Valley communities that depend upon salmon fishing and tourism for much of their income.

"The economic impact on coastal communities in California and Oregon will be substantial and cascading,” according to a letter from the Fisheries Subcommittee. “From 2001 to 2005, the average economic value of the commercial and recreational fishery was estimated to be $40 and $21 million, respectively. However, these figures ignore the economic and employment losses in associated industries such as docks and harbors, boating, equipment supply, and restaurants.”

The states of Washington, Oregon, and California have already requested federal disaster assistance in the amount of $274 million and on May, 1, 2008, Secretary Gutierrez declared a commercial fishery failure for the West Coast salmon fishery.

"While the reasons for the sudden collapse of the fall Chinook stock are complex, agency scientists have pointed to reduced ocean productivity in 2005 as a potentially determining factor," the letter stated. "Yet many human-caused, in-river impacts have also been unfavorable to salmon stocks, some of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). While ocean conditions are clearly beyond the control of fisheries managers, management and rebuilding plans for salmon should be designed to rebuild and maintain healthy populations that are able to withstand the natural fluctuations that will inevitably occur."

Under the ESA, NOAA Fisheries is responsible for ensuring that human impacts do not result in species extinction. Yet, in three separate instances on three separate West Coast rivers, the courts have determined that NOAA failed in their responsibility to protect salmon from extinction through their biological opinions.

"While new court-mandated biological opinions have the potential to improve management and prevent complete closures of the salmon fisheries in the future, there are significant questions regarding the repeated failure of NOAA to draft biological opinions that can pass scientific muster with the courts," the letter concluded.

Hopefully, this hearing will spur some concrete short term and long term actions to restore declining salmon populations on the Sacramento, Klamath and Columbia rivers.

Meanwhile, on May 13, North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) announced that $170 million has been included in the Farm Bill to aid families and businesses in California, Oregon and Washington affected by the biggest and most devastating Pacific salmon season closure in American history.

“This funding is desperately needed by the communities and families who rely on salmon fishing, many of whom face losing their businesses and homes due to two years of no fishing,” said Thompson.

Thompson, fishing and conservation groups and California Indian Tribes along the Pacific North Coast have been working for years to restore salmon habitat. However, Thompson contended that low water levels caused by "unsustainable and unlawful water plans" put in place by the Bush Administration have contributed to the precipitous decline in West Coast salmon populations.

“We also need to pay attention to the political forces that helped create this disaster,” said Thompson. “Because of the Bush Administration’s poor water policies that were found to be in violation of the law, every major salmon river in the continental U.S. is now being run by the courts. As a result, the agencies responsible for restoring these rivers aren’t giving Congress the information we need to make them healthy again. The Bush Administration should be making decisions based on science, not politics.”

The House and Senate are expected to pass this final version of the Farm Bill later this week, according to Thompson.