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Vanishing Salmon: Support Healthy Rivers and Relief for Fishing Communities!

chinook salmonIf you are a fan of fresh West Coast wild-caught salmon, you might have noticed the tasty treat is increasingly hard to come by. The Klamath River's population of fall chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, has reached such dangerously low levels that last summer the commercial fishing season along 700 miles of America's west coast, including nearly all of Oregon and California, was almost completely shut down.

Overfishing is not the problem. Federal mismanagement of the river, a series of fish-killing dams, excessive water diversions, and poor water quality have taken a severe toll on this river system, which once supported one of the largest salmon runs on the West Coast. The massive fishing closures are seriously impacting fishing communities, consumers, and associated businesses throughout the region.

Help is in sight: Please ask Congress to support a new bill to provide emergency aid to salmon fishermen, and to take immediate steps to reverse the decline of the Klamath River and other salmon rivers throughout the Pacific Northwest.

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Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Save our West Coast Wild Salmon and Support Relief for Salmon Fishing Communities

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to urge you to support legislation (H.R. 234 and S. 145) to provide urgently needed disaster relief for fishing communities of Southern Oregon and Northern California whose livelihoods have been hurt by last year's catastrophic closure of the West Coast salmon fisheries. A fisheries disaster has already been declared, but no money to help these hard-pressed communities has yet been committed.

Last year's closure of 700 miles of West Coast salmon fisheries was one of the largest single fishery closures in our nation's history. Though it once supported one of the largest salmon runs on the West Coast, federal mismanagement of the Klamath River, including promising too much water to too many users, has devastated this river system.

Congress has a responsibility to help fishing communities affected by this closure, and to take steps to provide for the long-term health and stability of the Klamath River ecosystem. The wild salmon of the Pacific coast are not only an important local food, but part of our national heritage. Please don't let them disappear.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 22, 2007


Background Information

chinook salmonWild local salmon have sustained Native Americans since they first settled the Pacific Northwest coast. They have been the lifeblood of generations of fishermen, and are an integral part of coastal communities. But now, fishermen and communities that rely on healthy salmon populations are seriously concerned that this native fish may be disappearing.

The ongoing decline of salmon in the Klamath River, which runs from southern Oregon through Northern California, is not the result of natural circumstances or fishing, but of federal policies. A series of fish-killing dams, excessive water diversions, and poor water quality have taken a severe toll on this river system, which once boasted the third largest runs of salmon on the West Coast. In the fall of 2002, excessive federal water diversions killed over 65,000 returning adult salmon before they could spawn. Low river flows and poor water quality have sparked juvenile fish kills each spring since 2002.

 Earthjustice at Work
Earthjustice has long been working to keep the Klamath River and all of our nation's waters fishable and swimmable:

- In the spring of 2006, Earthjustice won a federal court case which ruled that the Bush administration must maintain higher minimum flows in drought years. This order should help prevent fishing closures in the future, and help make the Klamath a healthier place for salmon and the people who rely on them.

- For years, Earthjustice has been dedicated to ensuring that communities depending on salmon are not left high and dry. 

- Earthjustice Attorney Kristen Boyles talks about the legacy of the Klamath River fish kill.

As a result of record low returns of spawning salmon in the Klamath River, last year the Pacific Fisheries Management Council cut the commercial fishing season by more than 90 percent - the largest restriction ever in California's or Oregon's history. Because it is impossible for fishermen to determine the river of origin of a particular salmon once it is in the ocean, a near total commercial salmon fishing closure was needed to protect what remains of the Klamath River's salmon.

The 2006 closure was one of the largest single fishery closures in our nation's history. It meant that through no fault of their own, salmon fishing communities up and down 700 miles of the Northern California and Oregon coasts faced severe economic hardships.

But that's not the only problem. The wild salmon populations of the Columbia and Snake Rivers of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho - once among the world's greatest producers of salmon - have also declined steadily and dramatically over the past several decades due to habitat destruction and dams.

Without a long-term effort finally to solve the environmental problems of these great rivers, salmon stocks will never truly recover. Congress needs to act to ensure that these rivers carry enough cool, clean water to sustain healthy populations of salmon, and address the impact of outdated dams on the Columbia-Snake and Klamath river systems.

Help is on the way

New legislation to provide federal disaster relief to California's and Oregon's salmon fishing industry has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. Sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) in the House (H.R. 234) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in the Senate (S. 145), the bills authorize the appropriation of needed aid for the fishermen, Native American Tribes, and businesses that were impacted by the 2006 fishery failure.

We need to put pressure on Congress not only to secure immediate disaster relief for salmon fishing communities, but also to provide the leadership necessary to reverse the decline of the Klamath, Columbia, and Snake Rivers and their salmon.