The funding continues its slow wind through Congress.
An excerpt.
Push to land federal salmon funds
Industry, lawmakers seeking at least $80 million in aid.
By David Whitney - Bee Washington BureauPublished 12:00 am PDT Thursday, September 7, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Emergency aid for salmon fishermen is high on the agenda of West Coast lawmakers and industry groups as Congress returns to work this week after its August recess.
Enduring the worst season closures to protect dwindling stocks from the Klamath River, fishermen received a big boost last month when Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez declared a fishery failure because catches are expected to fall by 88 percent of the average.
Now comes the hard part: determining damages, and coaxing the money out of Congress.
Gutierrez estimated that the closures have directly harmed commercial fishermen to the tune of $16 million.
Oregon and California believe the damage could top $80 million when all the impacts are calculated.
Commercial fishermen think an additional $40 million or $45 million should be added to begin fixing the Klamath River so it's more hospitable to salmon.
"We need to keep these people from losing their boats and livelihoods," said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.
"But the more important thing is fixing the problems with the river so that it is again producing fish like it's capable of doing."
Congress is a long way from those numbers.
