A final version of the Farm Bill, expected to pass through the Senate and House later this week, will include $170 million in aid for families and businesses in the Pacific Northwest affected by closures to the region's commercial salmon fisheries.
"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," says North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.).
A historic collapse in juvenile chinook, or king, salmon in the Sacramento River in April led to a complete closure of the commercial and recreational salmon seasons in California and Oregon. Many of Washington's rivers will also be closed to salmon fishing due to near-record low returns of chinook and coho salmon in the Columbia River.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez declared the salmon season a federal fisheries disaster, authorizing Congress to provide aid. Thompson and other members of the California, Oregon and Washington delegations asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help find disaster aid so communities could get relief as quickly as possible.
Pacific Northwest communities that would receive this aid are still recovering from sub-par 2006 and 2007 salmon seasons caused by historically low salmon populations in the Klamath River Basin. Page Cell Aquaculture shelves Las Vegas project, raises $1.2m Daily Business Alerts (Australia) January 2, 2008 Wednesday
