Salmon fishermen get pledge for help

PORTLAND – The director of fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said he would work quickly to help commercial salmon fishermen hurt by the severely restricted fishing season along the Oregon and California coasts.

Bill Hogarth met Thursday with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, representatives from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office and staff from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $10 million Thursday to help West Coast fishing communities cope with the severely restricted season.

Oregon and California wildlife and government officials provided Hogarth with initial data on the impact of the restrictions. Oregon found that fishermen are catching roughly 10 percent the number of fish caught last year; California officials reported 6 percent. The results in both states are more perilous than anticipated, state officials said.

Federal fisheries managers last spring drastically curtailed commercial salmon fishing on 700 miles of the California and Oregon coast for this year to protect dwindling returns of wild chinook salmon to the Klamath River in Northern California. There is no fishing along 300 miles of coastline flanking the mouth of the Klamath and very restricted fishing on the remaining 400 miles.