Salmon fishing was banned along the West Coast for the first time in 160 years Thursday, a decision that is expected to have a devastating economic impact on fishermen, dozens of businesses, tourism and boating.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez immediately declared a commercial fishery disaster, opening the door for Congress to appropriate money for anyone who will be economically harmed.
The closure of commercial and recreational fishing for chinook salmon in the ocean off California and most of Oregon was announced by the National Marine Fishery Service.
It followed the recommendation last month of the Pacific Fishery Management Council after the catastrophic disappearance of California's fabled fall run of the pink fish popularly known as king salmon. (read the whole story here)
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2 comments:
I come from a long line of commercial fishermen, I am also an avid sports fisherman. I won't blame the commercial fishermen because it is not solely there fault but there tends to be a short sightedness amongst my sea brethren. My father is a life long commercial fisherman who has also dedicated a large portion of his life as an advocate for his industry. If I had a dollar for every battle he fought trying to sustain the fisheries for future generations only to be attacked by his fellow short sighted fellow fishermen I would be quite wealthy. I sometimes regret not following in his footsteps but when I see what is happening now I am quite thankful that God steered me in another direction.
Newly Illumined David,
Thank you for reading my blog. You, and everyone else who reads and comments here really make it worthwhile.
I was talking to a lobsterman from Maine a couple of years ago and he said that as far as he knows, Lobsters are the only sustainabley harvested creature in the Ocean. Apparantly, the traps they use are astoundigly ineffecient and actually are a source of food for the lobster population. Lobsters can walkinto the traps, eat the food and leave. only the stupidest lobsters get caught. Also, when they find a "pregnant" lobster they mark it and return it to the sea. And if anyone ever again catches it, "pregnant" or not it is returned to the see because it is a known breeder. He said there are more lobsters in the waters off of main now than there were 100 years ago.
Hearing him made me wixh all fishermen were like the Maine lobstermen.
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